


August Rain

by downpourcity



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-02-20 04:06:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13138728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/downpourcity/pseuds/downpourcity
Summary: Rachel Amber is kidnapped, drugged and put through a month of hell, only to wake up in Frank Bower's trailer. Follow Rachel as she regains her footing and solves the disappearance of her newfound friend Max Caulfield.





	1. Dark Room

It was April, April 22nd, 2013 when she went missing. It was during this month she didn’t understand the meaning of what up or down meant. She was tossed about, bathed in bright lights, unknown to what was happening to her. She could hear nothing but a camera’s aperture closing, a bright light flooding into her eyes until she was blind and the distant tinge of the tip of a needle poking into her neck.

Rachel Amber, that was her name and that was what she held onto. To survive was to know yourself and to not let go even in times of major distress.

The lights faded into darkness as she heard the roar of an engine drive into the distance. Collected rain water lapped at her cheeks, droplets forming on her nose and eyelashes. The sound of a downpour became the normal sound, her ears tuning to it, her body melting away into nothingness.

She woke with a gasp, her body shuttering, her heart beating out of her chest cavity.

“Whoa whoa, Rachel. Rachel, it’s okay, it’s just me.” A male’s voice entered her ears, it was warped, distant almost haunting. Eventually it dawned on her that Frank Bowers was speaking.

“Frank?” She asked in a dirty and graveled voice. Shivers ripped through her hearing her voice in this way.

“You’re okay now.”

Eventually she ended up at a table, staring blankly out a droplet stained window, mouth agape, eyes dead, lips chapped, with a paper plate before her. She clung onto the old blanket wrapped loosely around her.

“I found you in a ditch. I’m glad I got to you before it filled in with rain. How the hell did you end up there?” He asked in a gentle voice, looking off into nowhere. His fingers traced his own shoulder blade.

She didn’t answer, licking her lips in hopes to return them to normal. She felt a phantom icy needle hit her neck, her face fading into fear and torture, her lips twitching in fear and sadness.

“I don’t know.” She managed, eyes flicking every which way, grabbing onto whatever she could to hold herself up. She grabbed the plastic fork from beside the plate, sketching it through the cold baked beans.

“I was worried sick, and I’m sure your parents-- Fuck. Rachel.” He stopped his train of thought, noticing the tears that were edging through the dirt stains on her cheeks.

She couldn’t quite remember the transition between the inside of Frank’s trailer and her own bedroom. The amplified crying of her mother entered her brain, rattling her free of the trance she had been caught in.

She stood up, shakily walking towards the door, pressing her face against the cold wood. She felt the vibrations of her parents rattled with emotion in the grain. Calmly she opened the door, walking down the stairs into the kitchen. Her mother and father were seemingly distracted by one another’s company, not paying an ounce of attention to their daughter.

Rachel bit her lip, pain shooting through her jaw. A fresh cut lay wedged in the path of her teeth. She shuffled into the kitchen, grabbing a glass, putting water into it. The simple gesture of this motion was enough to make her smile. A month or however long it had been without normal actions had taken its toll on her sanity.

As she placed the glass to her lips, her mother and father took notice of her.

“Rachel let me do that!” Her father stood up as fast as he could, the newspaper in his lap flying into the air.

She set the glass down, her facial expression blank but serious. “Dad, I’m fine.”

“You’ve been gone a month, you aren’t fine.” Mrs. Amber cut in, her voice dying like a light going out.

Rachel sighed, creasing the space between her eyebrows with her fingers. A knock at the door jerked her from the normalcy, her heart jumped into her chest.

“I’ll deal with it.” He hissed, opening the door hesitantly after looking out the peep hole.

A blue haired girl stood on the other side of the door and as soon as she opened her mouth, Rachel was thrown awake.

“W-Where am I?” She groaned, daylight spitting through the cracks of a pair of hospital curtains.

“W-Wha…” Her father awoke from a clearly tumultuous sleep. “R-Rachel, you’re finally awake.”

“You’re in the hospital, sweetie.” Rose sat up, smiling sleepily at her. “Mr. Bowers took you here.”

“See he’s not all bad.” Rachel joked quietly, smiling at that.

“For now.” Her father returned, moving a swath of hair from her eyes.

A police officer quietly entered the room, sitting down with them. “Ah, Ms. Amber, you’re finally awake. I know this is sudden but can I ask you some questions before we let you rest up some more?”

“Are you sure that’s necessary?” Her father asked in an annoyed tone, squinting at the man in blue.

“It’s protocol, Mr. Amber. It won’t take long.” He grabbed out a small notepad from his chest pocket, and then a blue pen from a back pocket.

She was thrown through the ringer, question after question being tossed into her brain, floating around like unsolved puzzles. Where was she? Who was she with? What happened to her?

“Nathan. Nathan Prescott is the only face I remember. There was no one else.” She coughed, her voice catching on the dry hospital room air. “I only remember being drugged multiple times and taken photos of.” She shivered, diving deeper under the thin blankets.

“Are you sure there was no one else?” He asked, holding the cap in his teeth.

“I’m positive. No one else.” She rubbed at her arm, antsy to be done.

“Okay, that’s all for now. We’ll return to you with more questions if you remember anything else or if we need anything. I hope that’s okay.” He capped the pen, stood up and then looked over the information in his notes.

“That’s fine.” She waved him away, he left the room in a hasty manner.

“Rachel, we had no idea…” James filled the silence afterward with his voice. “You were kept hostage by that Prescott?”

“At least that’s what I remember.” She flopped to her side, staring at the unoccupied wall. “Dad, do you know where Chloe is? I’d like to talk with her.”

“She’s been trying to see you all morning.” Rose cut in, “We didn’t want anyone or anything to make you anymore anxious than you already were.”

“I’m fine, mom.” She insisted, turning back towards them with a rather tired but convincingly pleading face.

Rose stood up, opening the door a crack, “Alright you can come in, Chloe.”

The blue haired punk stood up, bursting in as fast as she could. Tears burned her eyes and cheeks, her nose redder than a drunkard.

“Rachel.” She said in an even-toned voice, her lips quivering. “W-Where _the fuck_ have you been?”

“If I could tell you,  _I would_.” She attempted humor in her dried out voice.


	2. Watering the Flowers

Hospitals, hospitals were terrible. Rachel Amber was so excited when she was told she could check out. She walked out before they could even document her discharge. Chloe held her close as they waltzed into the light. By the time she was back in town, the one thing that stood out to her most was the posters documenting her missing.

“You put up all of those for me?” She asked, leaning against a brick wall with a cigarette hanging from her lips.

“Yup, every one of them. It took me a good day.” She lit Rachel’s cigarette and then her’s, taking a long pull.

Two distinct puffs of smoke entered the air.

The one with the broken arm removed the cigarette from her lips, closing her eyes to gain herself again.

“I heard you and Frank were looking for me.” She took another drag, letting out an elongated stream of bluish grey smoke.

“We got Pompidou into bloodhound mode and had him try to pick up your scent.” She looked over to her, smashing the butt of her cigarette into the wall.

Rachel was stunned by Chloe’s gaze, blinking the feeling away. “And?”

“We kept going to the same places but your scent kept running dry. When he gave up, I sure as hell didn’t. I went to Blackwell, questioned the hell out of everyone and then went on some Sherlock Holmes crusade. Wells just about got me arrested.” She shrugged, holding onto the triple bullet necklace around her neck with a grip stronger than a bear trap.

“I’m flattered.” She laughed, setting the cigarette on the ground, stomping it out. “You never cease to amaze me, Price.”

“Anything for you, Rach.” Her fingers gingerly stroked Rachel’s head, a cheeky grin replacing the last emotion.

She had missed this affection desperately. She nuzzled into her hand like a cat, closing her eyes to take in this moment as best as she could. It made her feel less robotic and more human. The loneliness that had existed in her heart cut deep at this moment but it was a strangely good hurt.

“I know you’ve asked me more times than I can count, but it’s your turn, how are _you_ , Chloe?” She blinked away a few random tears.

“I’ve been better. Now that you’re here, I don’t have to worry anymore, now do I?” She grabbed Rachel, kissing her on the cheek. “Don’t get all teary on me, we’ll both start crying a river or some mushy shit.”

“I missed you.” She pecked her lips, bouncing side to side afterward in excited triumph.

“Missed you too.” Her cheeks ignited to life, redder than ever.

Times like this lasted as fast as a blink of an eye. So, beautiful and yet so quick. Rachel held onto it yet again, another moment for her mind’s scrapbook. She sat in her room now, trying desperately to dig into her brain for answers as to where she had been for a month.

Nathan. Camera. White Room. Cold.

She felt a pang of pain throttle itself through her brain cavity, sending her into a daze of quickly passing memories.

Nathan. Camera. White Room. Flash. Cold. Flash. Cold. Flash. Hard Floor. Flash. Nathan.

A gasp rattled out from her mouth. She had sounded as if she had been submerged in water, bringing her head up for the first time in ages. _Shit_. Rachel heard a rap on her door, it opened with urgency as her father walked in.

“Rachel? Are you alright?” He noticed the sweat drifting down her forehead at an alarming rate. “The doctor told you not to strain yourself…Especially before you return to Blackwell.”

“I’m fine. The doctor also said I’d have random moments of remembering things my brain had suppressed. This is probably normal.” She rubbed at her temple, smiling in an unconvincing manner.

“Alright, just remember you can come to us Rachel. You aren’t alone in this. _Not anymore_.” He closed her door with a quiet and warm thud.

She laughed, a breathy laugh, and then stood up. Maybe lying in bed would calm her down. She pushed the chair in, turned on the lamp Chloe had modified for her when she was sad back in her Tempest days.

The flash of the initial turn on scared her, her body visibly cringing backwards. Once she opened her eyes again and noticed the stars above her, the shaking stopped.

She’d have to get normal before she returned for the fall school year. How she’d do that? She wasn’t even sure. She knew her mother and father had signed her up for a psychologist, but she knew whatever this was couldn’t be undone by a simple person. It would take an army.

Rachel threw herself into bed, staring up at the ceiling into the star-scape unfolding above her. A smile wiggled at the edges of her lips as she remembered a time far away.

She remembered sitting on the edge of a truck, a red truck, swinging her legs back and forth while listening to the distant sound of the radio. Frank sat next to her, both staring up at the stars. Waves crashed against the cliffs behind them, the sea air containing a refreshing breeze to end the night.

“Her life is just something I can’t keep up with.” She said, her words swirling around in the air like smoke.

“I know. She won’t have to know. I’m just a dealer to you, right?” He laughed uncertainty, grabbing onto her hand.

“You’re never just a dealer to me, Frank. You made me realize that life isn’t all about running.” She bit the edge of her lip like she always did when she was nervous.

“She loves you. You know that, right?” He let go of her hand, rubbing the back of his neck with it.

“I know, but she also knows I told her we needed a break.” A long pause and then a throat clear. “But she knows our relationship isn’t gone, it’s still there. It’s just… on hold for a bit, you know?”

“I know, I know. It still doesn’t make me feel very good.” He admit, chuckling in a way that was more nervous than reassuring. “You’re a gem and I sometimes don’t feel good enough for ya.”

“You’re more than good enough, dork.” She scoot closer to him, kissing him gently on the cheek. “You make me feel more like me.”

“Do I?” He felt Pompidou nudge him from the back, his hand went behind him, patting his furry head.

“Always.” She grabbed her phone from her pocket, turning it to silent as she felt it vibrate for the umpteenth time.

The world she remembered vanished from her brain as she turned to her side, staring at the wall. “Oh Frank.”

It was hard at first, distancing herself from Chloe Price. She felt so much trust and love for the girl that being away from her was hard. She knew it was for the best. The blue-haired girl had problems of her own and she always noticed that she put herself last. It wasn’t a healthy relationship to watch the girl she loved stock her problems away and ignore them for her sake. A relationship was meant to be shared and that meant both people could talk openly without fear of harming one another. A sigh built up within her chest, she held onto it, letting it go with all those feelings.

She didn’t know or understand what her relationship was at this point. She felt single yet bound to two souls. Chloe Price and Frank Bowers. She loved both in their different ways, but she knew she had to choose one or the other. Neither of them really saw eye to eye anymore. It was so difficult juggling some stupid relationship problems alongside the memories of that month away from them.

_And why the hell had she trusted Nathan?_ He just shared drugs with her. That’s all it was. But then? He had the guts to do whatever he did to her. She could feel her neck tinge with pain again and with that her body drifted into sleep.

When she awoke the next morning, she was almost one hundred percent convinced that she had been drugged again, but it had been bad timing instead. She let out a groan, dropping her hands on the mattress beneath her in frustration. Hopefully that psychologist could undo whatever the hell this was.

Her brain was such a jumbled mess of memories and experiences that it was hard to understand what was even happening anymore. Was she awake half the time? Or was she just remembering? Rachel pinched herself, throwing herself from the clumped-up jungle gym of metallic emotions.

She looked at her clock.

7:45 AM.

Another groan, and with that she got up. Maybe a smoke would calm her down. She sat up, pat her pocket to make sure it still contained a lighter and cig, and then made her way down. Usually her parents were up and running around now, getting ready for the work day. She could hear her dad’s voice drifting from his office. He seemed angry about something, his words hammering into the phone like he was trying to convince someone that rain wasn’t wet and pigs flew.

Her mother was already gone for the morning, so she was alone to her thoughts and well her father’s angry words. She smirked, walking out the back door into the cold. The Oregon Coast was always so chilly in the morning no matter how far away from the water you lived. She took up her lighter, looking at the flame for a bit. She remembered the fire she started so very long ago, she shook her head. She grabbed the cig, propped it to her lips and then lit it on the third try.

She hated her smoking habit already.

The breeze contained the distinct smell of the Pacific. That was something that made her feel alive. The ocean was such a beautiful force of nature, throwing itself at rocks and cliffs and sandy shores, shaping the world around it as if it stood still. She closed her eyes, swearing she could hear its distant crash. She threw her cig on the ground, crushing it under her slipper’s sole. She folded her arms around her, tightly, guarding herself from the cold that woke her up. Her bad arm ached but she ignored it.

She took in the scent of her own fragrance, grounding herself for the morning. Cigarettes, ocean, rose, vanilla and lavender.

Rachel parted from the outside world, entering the kitchen again, trying her best to not let the cigarette smoke enter the house. She knew how her parents hated the smell. Sometimes she’d even ask, “What smell?” That’s when she knew it was bad. Well that and the fact she couldn’t stop thinking about smoking.

She hesitantly opened the fridge, nothing of interest. She closed the door, scratching at her good arm with the one she should be keeping in a sling. Pain shot up her casted arm, she ignored it again. She wanted something good to eat but didn’t want to head down to the diner. She was afraid she’d run into Chloe and not know what to say again. She did alright earlier but then again those were the hardest words she had shared in a long time. It was difficult to hold the carefree attitude she once put on so well. But then again, Chloe knew when she wasn’t being real with her.

She was on autopilot, going through the motions of a normal morning. Shower, dressed, getting her coat on, leaving the house. She was walking down the street, pine needles hitting her in the face, pine cones dropping from the trees. The breeze had really picked up since the last time she was outside. The blue sky had suddenly gone stormy?

She blinked and for a moment she was on her street and then she was suddenly at the base of the lighthouse, staring up at the sky. It was grey and twisted, the wind was the most intense she had ever seen it in the bay. A girl with short hair stood in front of her wearing a grey hoodie and a messenger bag. She hadn’t ever seen this person before, or had she? She saw a boat fly through the air like it was a toy, she put up her hand.

“STOP YOU’RE GOING TO GET HURT!” She screamed through the wind to no avail, watching as the girl turned towards her, her face visible now. She looked so scared, so lost, almost as confused as Rachel probably did. The boat flew into the lighthouse, taking a huge chunk of it down, the girl almost got hit but was missed by inches. After the chunk was gone, she noticed a huge tornado. A tornado?

She gasped, looking up at the sky. It was blue, her head churned like the ocean during a storm. She was on her knees at this point. She felt like she was going to be sick. The vision had been so vivid she questioned if her mind had fabricated it or if it was going to happen. These questions were like nails into her brain but her anxiety wouldn’t stop them from coming.

Was Arcadia Bay in danger? Was she just hallucinating really hard? Was this her brain coming off the drugs she kept being given? Or was she coming off the drugs from the months before? She really needed to stop. She needed to take back the steering wheel to her life.

She got back up on her feet, this would be one long walk.


	3. Cutting Deep

When she returned to Blackwell that fall she hadn’t really changed, at least to the eyes of the onlookers who hadn’t paid mind to her.

She continued to be her usual self but in smaller increments. She was afraid of getting stuck in a web of pain and torture again. Ever since that time so very long ago that she fell to her knees with a vision of a storm, she hadn’t experienced anything like it again.

Well, that was until she met her. Max Caulfield.

Rachel twisted away and held her breath at the sight of her the first time she met her. That was only a few weeks ago. Time was going by rather slow.

Chloe had talked about her before, shown her some pictures, gossiped about some bad times and how the girl just left her for Seattle. Now she was back and she wasn’t quite sure if Chloe had known or not.

Her head exploded into painful fireworks as another vision overtook her brain and took her from science class.

The world was thrown into another vortex of deafening wind and rainy haze. She was standing near the bench, closest to the cliff. Two people became obvious to her in this haze, they stood near her exchanging words.

“Max Caulfield don’t you fo— “Chloe’s voice came to life, the two-people becoming obvious to her. They at first hadn’t noticed her and now they were both aback.

“Rachel?” She heard, her eyes widened in confusion over the tone of voice that her name had been said. It was as if she were just a ghost passing through.

“Rachel!?” She heard again, blinking out rain drops.

She was suddenly back in class, Max Caulfield standing over her in confusion.   
“Are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine.” She put her hand to her temple, her head spinning. “Just crammed a lot last night. I’ll be fine in a bit.” She attempted a laugh and her signature smile.

The smile didn’t buy her much.

By lunch time when she was sitting behind the dorms taking a smoke, Max was back. She looked up, biting her bottom lip. Usually she’d be hanging around her friends and then doing a few more mundane tasks to hold up her “reputation” that everyone claimed she had. Lately she had been reserved, keeping far away from Nathan, Victoria or anyone related to the Vortex Club.

She heard the shift of a messenger bag hitting the dry grass beneath and then the concrete lip of the building.

“Hi Rachel.” Her voice was small, shy even, a bit withdrawn.

“Hey Max.” She crushed the tip of her cigarette, turning towards her. “What brings you to the back of the school special?”

“Oh, just thought I’d check in on you after this morning. You seemed uh, well, a bit distraught.” She laughed, her eyes shutting tight.

“Yeah, that wasn’t the best thing this morning. I’m so glad I only have one more shitshow to go to today and then I can creep back home.” She ran her good hand through her hair, putting a large portion of it behind her neck to better reveal the blue feather dangling from her ear.

Was “shitshow” the best reaction to a few more classes at Blackwell? She didn’t know herself but something about that felt good to say.

Rachel rose a brow at the silence that followed, maybe she could revive this odd conversation.

“I mean it’s not too bad here. I’m just being over the top, it’s kinda my thing.” A laugh followed suit, an attempt to break the ice.

“Yeah, it’s honestly great. I like it.” Max admit, turning herself to stare up at the Douglas Fir looming high above them.

“That’s good.” She turned her attention to the tree as well. “Who told you I’d be back here?”

“Oh, Samuel told me you were back here. He said something about you looking really down.” She sounded ashamed for some odd reason, grabbing her camera from her bag.

“Ah yeah, Samuel. Figured as much.” A quirkier version of her usual ‘perfect’ smile lit up her face. “So, you’re still into photography, huh?”  
  
“Still?” She asked in all curiousness, setting her camera in her lap.  
  
“Chloe told me all about you.” She admit, turning to face her.  
  
Max and Rachel made sustained eye contact, never once breaking. It was one of those moments where they were tethered together by sheer awkwardness, curiousness and exhaustion.

“Chloe?” Max asked, a sense of suppressed pain arising from the depths of that question. “You know her?”

“Yeah. We were really um… _good friends_.” She hated how that sounded. They weren’t just friends, no they were more than that. They dated for a solid time, held one another close until sleep took them away and spent many intimate moments together. How could she just blatantly lie?! Lying was her specialty, it was what kept her from hurting other people, from off-putting those around her, from scaring people away. Telling the truth would’ve ruined this moment, right? Made it more awkward, _right_?

_C’mon Rachel, hold it together. You’re this far in, keep it going._

_This isn’t right Rachel, stop doing this to yourself. Stop lying. Stop manipulating. Stop--_

“Oh? Wow! It’s a small world.” A small breathy laugh tailed her last word.

“And a small town.” Rachel added, laughing with her. “You should see her sometime soon, she misses you.”

“She misses me?” She sounded so surprised, so shocked, so pained?

“Yeah probably. You’ve been gone like, five years, right?” She ended that with another one of her signature smiles, the ones people were confused and taken in by.

“I wish I could’ve stayed in Arcadia Bay.” She shifted her fingers over the frame of her camera. Finally, she looked back up at her with a small smile, attempting to end the awkwardness and break the ice. “You’re gonna think I’m weird but can I take a picture of you?”

A shocked expression took Rachel’s face, but it was also one of happiness. _Oh, thank goodness that painful conversation is over._

“Sure thing, Caulfield.” She gave a genuine smile, the warmth from her eyes overwhelmed the afternoon sun.

Snap. Flash.

A solid shiver ran up her back but she remembered her counseling. Not all cameras were bad ones. She couldn’t break down at the sight of all of them. That was irrational.

Max shook the photograph in the air and then set it in her bag. “Do you want it when I finish with it?”

“You can keep it if you want!” She laughed harder this time, a longer laugh.

“Hey uh, this is even weirder, but can you come with me to my dorm after class? I uh, think I have something you’d like to see.” She stood up, putting her camera into her bag.

“Sure thing. I’ll pop in after the last bell.” She stood up, stretching her arms above her head. Her back cracked, oh that was satisfying.

“Cool! See you then.” Max walked off quickly, happily even.

Well, that was an interesting moment with her. No wonder why Chloe was her best friend. Rachel’s fake smile swelled into a real one, her teeth sparkling against the sunlight. She wandered around the side of the dorms and into the main yard.

One more class awaited her. The final class of the day was photography. She wasn’t much for this class at all, and was honestly extremely creeped out by its instructor. Mark Jefferson was apparently some sort of prodigy in the photography industry. She looked at his work and hadn’t found a single image that struck her as _not creepy_. There was a huge lack of emotional connection between subject and photographer.

She had known Mr. Jefferson beforehand but now suddenly there was something really off about him. His pictures went from extraordinary to horrifying very quickly. She blamed Nathan.

His class moved so slow and she wasn’t even sure why. The subject matter was interesting. She squirmed in her seat every time she played “star student.” Raising her hand to answer questions she dug through books, articles and videos to find earlier.

When the bell finally rang she hadn’t believed it. She stood up, oh thank goodness, she could return home. Oh wait, Max. She grabbed up her textbooks and placed them into her bag. She grabbed her cellphone from her pocket, texting Chloe.

**Rachel:**  
Your bosom buddy is back

**Chloe:**  
New phone who dis  
  
**Rachel:**   
Jane Doe

**Chloe:**  
what?  
  
**Chloe:**  
Wait  
  
**Rachel:**  
ttyl

Rachel put her phone into her pocket, feeling it vibrate a few more times. She smirked, strutting down the hall. She heard a voice from behind her, a very distraught voice.

“Don’t touch me Nathan!” The voice was familiar.

She turned around, noticing the taller idiot tangling with the girl known as Kate Marsh. A lump formed in her throat as she walked up to them. She didn’t want to deal with Nathan but if he was going to hurt her she needed to stop him. Especially after he hurt her. She stood in front of them, putting a hand on her hip.

“Don’t you fucking touch her, Prescott.” She growled, grabbing Kate away from him.

She looked like a deer in the headlights.

“Oh, if it isn’t Rachel.” His tone changed, the anger still evident but a coolness was added to throw her off. “Nice to see you again.”

“Let’s not.” She calmed her jets down enough to sound chill with him, oh but she wasn’t. She could tear him down right now.

“But Amber, this slut was trying to get all over me.” He sounded like a poor sad boy.

“Kate calm your tits down or some shit!” He yelled after, his sentence unintelligible.

She turned the two of them around, grabbing her hand. She swiftly escorted her out to the front.

“Kate are you okay?” She asked, remembering her name upon his crude remarks.

“N-No but I’ll be okay.” She sounded close to tears, her lips wiggling.

“I’m going to walk you to the dorms, is that okay?” She asked, her voice firm.

“O-Okay, thank you R-Rachel.” She smiled, a tear going down her cheek.

“Just remember, whatever he says? Is _complete_ bullshit.” Rachel’s voice turned venomous towards the end.

“Yeah, I know, he’s … been harassing me ever since the last Vortex Club Party.” She lowered her voice as they passed a group of boys skateboarding around.

“Is there anything I can do to stop it?” She asked, feeling her heart sink. Vortex Club Parties were nothing but scandals. She used to love them. The drugs? Hell yes. The liquor? It was a nice touch. The afterparty? She loved it all. It made her feel alive, but after her kidnapping? She had developed another mindset.

“I-I don’t know.” She squeezed her hand, maybe figuring out if she was real or not?

Rachel squeezed back, harder, assuring her she was there. That she would be there.

They rounded the bend. Once they were up the steps she opened the door for her, helping her up and in. “There you go.”

“Thank you, Rachel, Seriously. You saved my life.” She smiled, another tear streaking down her cheek.

“No problem. Hey, here have my number.” She offered, grabbing out her phone. “Text me or call me when you need advice or me to come over and chill with you. You’re a pretty cool person.”

Kate grabbed out her phone, a small laugh coming from her. She seemed ecstatic, relieved even. They swapped numbers, she waved goodbye and then entered her dorm.

Rachel continued down the hall, looking at her texts to remind herself of Max’s room number. She was stopped almost half-way down the hall.

Chloe stood against the wall, resting her foot behind her. “Hey Rach.”

“Hey, what are you doing here?” She asked, putting her phone back into her pocket.

“Max texted me. Red letter day, right?” She asked, pushing herself off the wall.

“Oh, she did? Good. C’mon let’s head over there then.” She started to walk again and was stopped promptly.

“She’s not there. What’s new?” Chloe scoffed, a tinge of disgust lingering in her voice.

“She’s not, huh?” Rachel looked perplexed, knowing Max had a knack for being on time. Seeing as she wasn’t late to any of the classes they attended together. Worry gripped her chest suddenly, she felt a distinct lack of breath. Her brain swirled together the singular most whack story.

_Mark Jefferson stood with a camera, a wicked smile on his face. Below lay a figure on a white vinyl sheet. A flash ignited, making the room go white._

She was thrown from her vision-esque moment when Chloe commented on how spacy she was.

“Chloe you’re… here, you’re real. Jefferson… He..” She grabbed onto her, feeling herself grow dizzy.

“Of course, I’m real.” She almost laughed at that, holding onto her tightly.   
  
Rachel clung to her, almost losing herself again. “The storm… Jefferson… the butterfly.”

“What? You aren’t making any sense. Slow down.” She moved her hand up to her face.

“Rachel, Chloe, quick come out here!” Came the voice of Max from the opposite side of the hall near the double doors.

Rachel blinked, the dazed look being replaced with one of fear. She gently moved Chloe’s hand away, turning tail to run out the double doors to see what was going on. Chloe followed, stumbling into Rachel who had stopped in the doorway.

_Snow fell from the sky_.

“What the hell is this?” Chloe asked, looking up at the sky and then to Max.

“Snowflakes?” Max returned, putting a hand out.

“It’s like 80 degrees, how?” Chloe questioned, sticking a hand out too.

“Climate change.” Max replied firmly.

“ _Or a storm is coming_ …” Rachel replied firmly.

Max looked up at her with a fearful and oddly understanding look in her eye.

This would be a _long_ week.


	4. Addiction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter contains mentions of drugs, alcohol consumption, abusive relationships and hints at sexual themes. 
> 
> If you or someone you love needs help please follow this link: https://www.lifeisstrange.com/en-us/talk
> 
> The fiction has also been upgraded to a mature-level fiction in case it touches on any other themes that may be seen as mature or painful.  
> Thank you.

_Several months ago, in the back of a red truck._

She was most alive in the night-time, her body jittered in excitement. Ever since theatre wasn’t enough to give her a high, she turned to drugs. _It was her escape._

Rachel wasn’t shy to the thought of doing a row, or huffing a gas can or shooting up. It didn’t help that her new friend was richer than anyone she had ever met before. It also didn’t help that he felt love for her that she didn’t feel back.

Nathan never really looked at Rachel as someone he would like. Well, like like. He always found himself in her shadow. After most Vortex Club Parties he would take his truck out to the seaside, park it, sit on the back of the bed and look up to the sky. Usually he’d enjoy it with a side of drugs. These drugs usually varied depending on how he felt, and thankfully Frank Bowers would supply.

Usually he’d go and see Frank and be met with “Kid I don’t think you should keep this habit up, you have a life ahead of you.”

And he’d return with, “I’ve got the Cash, Bowers, and if you refuse, I’ll get the cops on your ass.”

Frank would sigh, grab his waning supply of hard drugs and trade it off.

But tonight? Tonight, was different.

Nathan sat next to Rachel, a big bottle of beer in his hand. He set it down between them, smiling at nothing.

“Stars, huh?” He asked, wiping his mouth with his red sleeve. “Real sweet.”

Rachel grabbed the bottle, taking a swig herself, then set it down. “The best.”

“I didn’t realize we had something in common, Amber.” He laughed in a boisterous manner, putting his head back.

“Hard to believe isn’t it.” She shot back.

“I didn’t even realize how hardcore you were.” He took out a small baggie, a paper and then began rolling the worst joint ever.

“Pfff, weed? Got anything stronger?” She joked, watching as he finished rolling it, he licked his finger and then sealed it.

“Nah, not tonight.” He put it to his lips, lighting it. “You want a drag?”

“Is that even a question?” She waited for him to finish his, then took it from him, taking her own. She leaned back into the bed of the truck, handing it back to him.

“Damn good weed.” He blew out several rings to share his ‘aerial superiority’.

“Yeah.” She put her hands behind her head. “Makes the stars even more interesting.”

He took another long drag, not handing it back this time because Rachel sat up. She looked as if she had seen a ghost, he was confused.

“N-Nathan, was that shit laced?” Her hands began shaking, paranoia obvious across her entire body.

“I got it from a new dealer, said it was a better cut.” His eyes widened as he felt someone slap him.

But there was nobody there.

Rachel moved away from him, sitting by herself in the corner of the bed, closest to the cab. She moved her knees up to her face, barely even able to sit up. It was fast acting whatever it was. She began sweating furiously, the drug not taking well to her body. Instead of a blissful experience she was met with one of agony.

“Stop yelling at me…” She whispered, watching as Nathan threw the joint as far as he could away from them.

Nathan looked back at her in paranoia. He had had more than her and well, the person sitting in his truck wasn’t exactly Rachel anymore.

“D-Dad?”

Eventually the duo was hunched over in the corner of the truck holding one another shaking. It took an hour before they were sleeping on one another. A drop of rain woke Nathan up a number of hours later, he still clutched Rachel in his arms. His cheeks ignited into mini fires, he didn’t know what to do now. First, he gave her shitty drugs and now they were clutching one another as if the world depended on it. His heart was being stupid so he carefully woke her up.

“W-What happened?” She asked as she was coming to, she looked up at Nathan with big and bold green eyes, fire igniting in the pits of them. “What the _hell_ happened?” She asked again, her temper leaking from her words.

“T-The dealer was shit.” He admit, scooting away to give her some space.

She scoot forward, grabbing the bottle of beer that still hung around on the truck. It was watery now but it’d help to numb this. She chugged it, wiping her face when she finished, only a little bit of the bottle remaining. She slid down back onto her back, obviously dizzy from the night before and the hangover from earlier. “My parents are going to _kill_ me.” She groaned out, clutching her forehead.

“Should we go back to my dorm?” He offered, sliding down next to her again.

“I’d rather face the music.” She admit, turning away from him to look out over the quickly falling rain.

“Okay.” He replied firmly, going past her once she made room. “I can do that.”

She got up, closed the back of the truck and then threw the bottle against a low stone wall. It shattered into millions of pieces, the rest of the contents flying through the air. She didn’t care, she was drenched anyway. She walked over to his truck, opening the passenger door. Nathan was smoking by this point, a cigarette.

He grabbed an extra one from the pack, offering it to her.

“No.” She hissed, turning to face the window away from him.

A heated sigh returned, he was mad. Mad at himself and her and the stupid dealer.

The drive back to her house was a long and quiet one. The rain was ridiculous. No matter how high he turned his wipers on, the rain continued to cloud the windshield. He kept himself as steady on the road as he could manage, finally making it to her house in one piece.

Rachel didn’t say a word as she got out.

“I’m sorry, Rachel… I fuc—“ The door was shut before he could finish, he slammed his fist against the horn, a few dozen birds flying out from a tree nearest him. He peeled out of the neighborhood and drove away.

Nathan didn’t care at this point. He’d make sure Frank knew about his disappointment. After a stupidly long drive back down the hill, he was met with a few dozen road closed signs because of flooding. He was on a rampage through the open sections of town, finally parking badly at the Two Whales Diner.

“Oh, what do you know.” He said through grit teeth, watching as both the open sign was flicking on and off and the trailer was parked behind the building. “Perfect.”

He didn’t care about the wind or the rain or the sea coming closer to the street, no. He just wanted Frank. Maybe he’d even find the other guy that he recommended hanging around.

He opened the door to the diner, surveying the entire place as fast as he could. Frank sat near the back closest to the restrooms, he was eating from a plate of beans. Nathan walked over loudly, growling as he did so, he sat down in the booth across from him, bearing his teeth at him. Frank continued eating his beans casually, looking up at him and then back down at his food.

“Bowers.” He hissed, trying to keep his anger from entering the air like a blast of lightning.

“What’s up, kid I don’t know?” He put his spoon down, looking up at him with prying eyes. “What’s the problem Prescott?”

“You know that guy you recommended? The Lesley guy?” He smiled, his eyes as harsh as the stars up close.

“Can’t say I do.” He was about to pick up his spoon again. Nathan grabbed his wrist tightly to stop him. “Woah there. Fine, sure. I know him.”

“He laced it.” He growled, nostrils flaring.

“Shit. Well I can’t control what he does, he usually keeps his customers happy.” He looked down at his wrist, slowly turning reddish purple from being held so hard.

“Where is he?” He asked, his voice slowly raising.

“I don’t keep track of people like him. It’s better off that way.” He grabbed Nathan’s hand off, showing the same strength back.

Nathan sat back in the booth, clutching the edge of the table, teeth closed together in an unescapable gate. “Bullshit.”

“Can I get you anything?” Joyce crept around the corner, holding her notebook and pen at the ready.

Nathan slammed his fist down, standing up and then running out of the diner without a word.

“What is up with that Prescott?” She questioned as soon as he was pulled out of the lot in a fury.

Frank shrugged, continuing to eat as if his wrist didn’t scream out in pain.

Nathan Prescott was angry, Frank Bowers was his usual bean-eating self, but Rachel Amber? _Oh, Rachel Amber_. She sat in her room in her bed crying her eyes out, shaking and wishing she could have more of whatever that drug was the night before.

She managed to slip by her parent’s worried and angry eyes into her room. Now she was forcing herself to deal with this inescapable itch. Her brain couldn’t stop going back onto that topic. The high. That was all her brain could latch onto, the high that made her feel so unlike herself. That escape that was so entirely beautiful and brilliant and handheld. Like some sort of cellular version of Long Beach.

These drugs took her places, places she could never even imagine in her wildest dreams.

_She was a Leo, she never looked back._

Or so, that was what she thought.

Days ran like ink into one another, creating a dark hazy mess of shaking, falling and drug abuse all while retaining straight A’s. It was like nothing was even going on behind the scenes, like Rachel Amber was still her prodigy self. _Oh, how she loved that feeling._ She could keep up the ruse, play the part of the happy-go-lucky Rachel Dawn Amber in the play called Blackwell Academy in her starring role. Then she could go off at night with the Prince who saved her, Prince Frank Bowers of the mobile home.

Well, that was until they both got high together. Those nights she’d be in the dark of his place, sleeping in the driver’s seat, hiding from Frank. She was paranoid and he was an angry monster. It became Rachel Dawn Amber runs from the monster she must slay, instead of her and her Prince. It became Rachel Dawn Amber doesn’t answer Chloe’s texts because she doesn’t want him to notice.

He was such a sweetheart when he wasn’t taking anything, but any other time? He was a monster. An abusive monster who’d regret so hard in the morning and yet do it all over again, telling her it wouldn’t happen again. It scared her so badly that she was afraid of the drugs. She was afraid if they got high again he’d manage to kill them.

She left him a note in the tone of voice she would have as her normal self. Unless her normal self was also a part in a crazy schemed play as well. She couldn’t tell anymore. Was Rachel Amber a child prodigy with straight A’s who everyone liked? Or was Rachel Amber a drug-crazed insane basket case running away from monsters? She couldn’t even tell who she was anymore, and that was when she knew she had to go.

But that was when she ran into Mark Jefferson. She was in town one day, cradling herself, holding onto attempting to appear normal. She fell into the street, Main street, her paranoia eating her until she was reduced to tears. Nothing in her head told her to move, so she stayed there as if it was the safest place on the planet. She honestly couldn’t care less if a car took her out. Nobody would miss her anyway. She definitely wasn’t the Rachel Amber everyone knew. Not now.

She heard a car coming, a stupid smile took over her face. She heard the breaks, the car inches away from her, but not quite touching. She let out a groan, a very solid groan, the tears becoming worse until she was sobbing.

“Ms. Amber?” A man’s voice came out from the car, he opened the door to his black impala, running to stand over her. He squat down, grabbing her up into his arms. “ _Rachel_.” He said firmly, watching as she looked up at him with bloodshot eyes and tear stained cheeks.

“M-Mr. Jefferson?” She cried out in a hushed voice, the new Blackwell teacher helping her into his car.

“Let’s take you home.” He smiled kindly at her, belting her in, putting his jacket over her. “Where do you live, Ms. Amber.?”

She explained in a hastily strung sentence where she lived, giving him Chloe’s address instead. Soon enough they were in front of her house.

“Ah, is this it?” He asked, quickly examining his phone.

“Y-Yes, thank you Mr. Jefferson.” She attempted, biting a nail.

“Call me, Mark. Here, I’ll give you my number in case you need a ride again or maybe some help.” His smile was faker than her’s but she hadn’t caught on.

She exchanged numbers and left the car, leaving him his Jacket. She went up to the door, knocking gently. He drove away as soon as she was let in.

Chloe had thankfully opened it, fully taken aback by this sudden appearance.   
“Rachel? What’s wrong?”

Rachel collapsed into her arms, holding her tightly.

“Rachel?” She said again, holding her against her bony body.

“C-Chloe please.” She managed, closing her eyes.

Chloe nodded, closing the door and then helping her upstairs. She shut her door quietly and then sat Rachel on her bed.

It was time to play the part of the Rachel that Chloe once knew. The Rachel that was once the realest but now was one of the fakest one’s ever.

She told a story of falling in the street with a bad twisted ankle, talked away the smell of alcohol on her breath and pretended everything was okay. Heaven forbid she looked at the red tracks on her arms and legs or the burns on her tanktop.

She bought it. She bought it and she hated it. Her entire story was crap, a lie, and she knew it. Chloe loved her enough to pretend that this was the reality. But it wasn’t.

She had told her she wanted space, that she needed time away, but now she was clinging onto her in bed, wishing away the tears that stung her eyes. Paranoia singing in her mind in the form of acute tinnitus. Whispers of the past clinging to her brain, reminders of pain eating at her heart, harsh words stinging her soul.

She wished that night would’ve lasted forever.

Chloe wrapped up the last bit of weed she had from Frank, sharing it with Rachel. The two of them lay in total bliss, listening to the tunes of a CD she had compiled for them. This was the first time in what felt like a million nights that felt right. But she was never satisfied with herself, nor did she ever really recognize who she really was.

These feelings led to disasters. Horrible, Horrible disasters. The withdrawals were so bad now that she couldn’t let Chloe know. No no _no_ , she couldn’t let her worry about her. So, she turned to the last person on her list of trusted people.

_Mark Jefferson._

He sounded so caring and driven and real when she last heard his voice in person. So, she called him asking for help, asking him about what drove him to be a photographer, what inspired him. These phone calls would go on for hours and hours, he would stop on occasion talking about how he felt they were inappropriate but soon he broke those sentences. He was so charismatic, so alluring, so real. He had his life together and she didn’t. He was famous, and she wasn’t. He came from nothing and made himself something. Oh, she loved it, _she loved him._

Eventually they started meeting at the diner, the movies, sometimes even the beach in nicer weather. They called themselves friends, soon best friends. She was so desperate for a stable human being that she didn’t notice anything wrong with him. He was an angel and she was inspired _._ The addictions from drugs seemed to be overrun with the addiction to him. She was so infatuated with him that she couldn’t get him off of her mind, he became the drug.

Some nights they’d hook up at hotels and others she’d take photos in his rental house near the center of Arcadia Bay. His camera was an extension of him and he’d capture her every feature and move in ways that she was new to. He never once dragged her into bed with drugs or a fake promise, no.

He was the realest person she had met in a long time. He made her understand herself in ways that Frank or Chloe never had. He made her see what she liked and wanted and not what she resented.

Mark Jefferson was her savior, her _secret savior_.

Only a few people caught onto this relationship. One being Victoria Chase and another Nathan Prescott.

It started quietly like a silent uprising, a rebellion a small cold war. Written messages in bathrooms, locker rooms, under desks, in notes in lockers, speculations in the school’s tribune. Then it spiraled until she was being verbally called a slut, a sex addict, a fake bitch.

She never let it bother her, but it bothered her knight in shining armor.

She came to her locker one day, hearing him digging into Nathan in the hall.

“You can’t treat her like that, Mr. Prescott. That’s not proper behavior in this school setting. You go to Blackwell Academy, not some backend public high school.” He snapped, the sound of lockers being smashed entered her ears.

“You can’t touch me, Mark. I’m your _protégé_ not your enemy.” He growled back, the sound of struggle coming from the hall.

“You aren’t good enough to be my protégé, Mr. Prescott.” The sound of him being let go was heard, the words got quieter and hastier. “Don’t _ruin_ this for me. Don’t ruin this for _us_.”

She thought he meant their relationship.

_But oh, she was wrong._

She finished going through her locker and that was when she felt a prick to her neck.

The world going into darkness.

_Flash._

“Good _good_. Get her in a better angle.” A creepy voice entered the coldness of this new setting.

_Flash. Flash._

“Oh, she’s waking up.” Another voice, hurried this time, distorted by whatever drug was in her system.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get her sleeping again very soon. Doesn’t that sound lovely? Here, be a _dear_ and administer the dose.”

She felt another prick, catching one of the two people in the light.

**_Nathan Prescott._ **

_Flash._

_Darkness._

_Rain in a ditch._

The sound of a truck peeling away into the darkness, yelling from within, melting away as she fell asleep once again, hurled into the blackness of the early morning.


	5. Hollow Echoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter contains the roof scene from Episode 2 of Life is Strange, reader discretion is advised.   
> (Also to note: No this will not completely follow LiS. I just have to get it somewhere~ Patience my readers.)

Ever since the snow had occurred in Arcadia Bay, the world had been turned upside down.

Rachel sat against the back of Max’s dorm couch, closing her eyes as she listened to a song. Max sat across from her, writing the rough draft of an essay down onto lined paper.

She sighed, trying to formulate the sentence she had in mind. “Max?”

“Yeah?” The brown-haired hippy looked up, smiling gently.

“Can I talk to you about something? I honestly don’t think Chloe would believe me.” She put a hand to her forehead for a second, pressing the palm of her hand against it and then releasing it.

“Sure, what’s up?” She set the pen down and then sat herself up against the wall, legs to her chest.

“Ever since I was taken by who I think was Nathan, I’ve been having increasingly violent visions.” She bit at her lip, realizing how insane she sounded. Stars and their alignments were sane but visions?

Max’s eyes widened subtly as if she had been taken aback by her words. “Y-Yeah?”

“Well… I keep imagining myself walking up to the lighthouse during a... _tornado._ And I uh…” She stopped herself, smiling crookedly. “I see you constantly, too.” A small laugh and then a shaky sigh.

“Are you cereal?” She asked cautiously, raising a brow. “Rachel are you positive?”

“Yes. I know I sound crazy but- “She was cut off immediately.

“No, no you aren’t crazy. I think I’ve seen this vision too.” She shrugged, calmly letting out a breath.

Rachel’s phone nearly vibrated out of her pocket. It thrashed about as an intense amount of texts was shown on the screen. ‘Kate Marsh’. She popped the phone from her pocket, looking up at Max who nodded at her.

“We can talk about this later, Rach. I don’t mind.” Max was always so passive when it came to things, but it was obvious she was slightly annoyed.

“Max I’m sorry. I didn’t… Kate sounds really sad right now.” She admitted, frowning down at the texts. “This is such an important conversation we’re having and I’d hate to leave you for someone else.” Rachel planted herself in her seat, looking ready for anything. “Please.”

“Go make sure Kate is okay. We’ll talk about our weird storm dream later. How about before class?” She smiled, the annoyance gone.

“Sounds good, Caulfield. Just remember, you’re a dork and I love talking to you. Thanks for letting me hang in your room before classes.” She stood up, shot her a wink and then raced over to Kate’s dorm.

A knock was all it took to get the quiet voice on the other side of the door to let her in. She sounded distraught. “C-Come in.”

Rachel opened the door, concern littering her face as the darkness creeped into her skin and into her bones from within the room. There was an unusually strong aura of sadness coming from the usually quiet and shy Kate. She shut the door behind her, preparing herself for the worst.

“What’s wrong?” She carefully sat next to her on her bed,

“I went to the showers this morning and found that the video of me at the Vortex Club party… was spread around _everywhere_.” She began to shake, obvious tear stains down her cheeks.

Rachel carefully slid closer to her, resting an arm around her. Kate didn’t seem to mind, sinking into her side.

“Do you know who posted it?” She murmured, letting her collapse into her side.

“Victoria rubbed it in my face, Taylor called me a slut and then they left me. I don’t know who posted it but I know it was one of _them._ ” She began shaking as if she was freezing.

“I can’t believe I associated myself with them for a minute. All they do is take and take and take. They think the world belongs to them and that making others miserable is admirable. Disgusting.” Rachel felt her heart fill with anger, her pulse racing through the roof. Fuck.

“R-Rachel what do I do? Should I go to the police? I tried talking to Principal Wells but that blew up in my face. He told me that it was impossible that Nathan or Victoria would’ve done that to me.” She closed her eyes. “He said I was lying.” Tears freely fell down her cheeks.

“I tried talking to the police earlier about Nathan and I’m pretty sure they got paid off of his trail.” She murmured, guiding a hand through a lose strand of her hair to push it back around her ear.

“Then do I just suffer?” She asked in an irritated manner, sitting up a bit.

“No, we’ll have to try something else.” She felt her stomach start to churn as she backed off a little to give her some space.

“My parents already saw it… they told me I wasn’t allowed back.” She bowed her head. “My friends can’t even look at me anymore and those… awful people won’t stop tormenting me. What did I do to deserve this?” She choked on tears, heaving.

“ _I’m your friend, Kate._ I’m going to protect you.” Anger and disgust were taking over her senses, the ringing in her ears was worsening.

“I hope so. I hope so…” Kate looked over at the clock. “R-Right class.” She stood up in an automated fashion, grabbing her bag.

“Are you up for it? I can skip if you need someone to be with instead of in there.” She offered, a small smile forming.

“N-No I think I should go to class.” She walked to her door, opening it.

Rachel got up, following her. “Alright. Please call me if you need me.” She walked back out towards the hall and then to the double doors to the courtyard.

She felt eyes fall on her backside, hard cold and dead eyes.

“Rachel Amber.” Her voice was like a shock to her system, she felt her fist clench under the pressure.

She kept walking, a sigh zipping out from her lips.

“I’m talking to you.” Her voice grew firmer. “Are you deaf?”

Rachel stopped, a smirk appearing upon her lips. “ _I am now_.”

A hot-headed sigh followed her snarky reply. “You used to be so cool. What happened to you? Was it that skank? Or maybe Jefferson banged you too hard.”

“Excuse me?” She turned around on her foot, the smirk gone and replaced with a single lined mass of fire. Her brain raced with urges to punch her into submission but the logical bit of her told her to shove her emotions into the folds of her stomach.

“ _Damn_ Vicki. You used to be so cool. Until you became a bitch.” She smiled, walking towards her in a pleasant manner.

Victoria stood her ground, narrowing her eyes.

“Look, what did you want?” She stood a good foot away from her, hand on hip, ready for anything.

“Hmmph.” She glared at her and then stormed away down the hall back to her dorm.

_Wow that was worth my time._

She finally was freed from the mouth of the dorms and was released into the wild.

Classes moved by like molasses and she couldn’t handle it. It felt as if she were having a withdrawal. She had minimal periods in the day but they were still nauseatingly boring. By the time she hit photography class shit had gotten real.

“Guys! There’s someone on the roof of the girl’s dorm. She looks like she’s going to jump!” Someone yelled into the classroom.

Rachel got out of her chair, quickly running out into the hall, watching as dozens of other teens did so. She took a shortcut out and towards the dorms. She looked up, shielding her eyes against the rain, Kate stood atop the roof, ready to go for it.

She ran towards the building, putting her hand up, watching as the girl she had been with hours ago started to descend towards the ground.

“NO!” She screamed, the world around her pausing, her head burning in pain.

Everything around her went black and when she opened her eyes? She was sitting in Max’s dorm.

Rachel looked around frantically, almost thrashing the couch apart. Max was taken aback by this, watching as she did so with no words.

“Rachel?” She asked, eyes widening at her suddenly hurried nature. “You were just about to leave my dorm and then you suddenly fell over and now—what’s up?”

“I-I was… I was in the courtyard… and Kate was on the roof... and she... she jumped.” She stopped in her tracks wondering if any of that was real. “Fuck, I… Am I insane?”

“Slow down. Kate was on the roof and then she jumped? Was it… was it right before class started?” Max asked carefully.

Rachel nodded, feeling chills flow freely down her backside.

“And everything stopped working?” She asked again, a fearful look overtaking her features.

“Birds... birds in midair. People taking pictures… Kate was… Kate was—” She stopped herself feeling her throat stick.

“Now you’re here?” Max sat back into the wall more-so. “Wowsers.”

“Wait, how do you know?” She regained her confidence.

“I dreamt about it or well… had a vision. Except it was me in your shoes. The whole of today played out. Chloe and I going to Two Whales, Kate Jumping, Rewinding… Time itself.” The last bit left her lips as if she didn’t believe herself.

“The storm.” Rachel uttered, grabbing onto the bracelet wrapped tightly around her wrist. “Did you see the—”

“I was with Chloe, and she gave me a picture and told me to get it over with or she’d freak. I thought it was just some wild nightmare until I—” She was cut off but Rachel who let out a small groan.

“You two looked at me like you had seen a ghost.” She spat out, putting her face into her hands.

“Yeah and then suddenly I woke up after that.” Max rubbed at her head. “Spooky.”

_Rewinding time? Time travel? Storms? Kate jumping from a roof top? When would she wake up from this nightmare?_

Rachel sat forward, feeling her heart heat in turmoil. She grabbed out her phone.

R: Kate, come over to Max’s dorm. We want to give you something before class.

K: I don’t know Rach. I don’t think I can

R: I know you can. You’re a fighter

K: You think so?

R: I know so, now c’mon doof, get over here.

K: Okay (:

Max looked perplexed, Rachel smirking towards her.

“We pile on the love with Kate and hope to all things good that it prevents this.” She poked at her temple.

“Hmm, worth a shot.” She got up, pulling her bracelets down on her wrist.

A knock came at the door, both teens perked up immediately.

“It’s me…” Came a small voice.

“Come on in, Kate.” Max greeted as the door opened.

The two carefully walked forward, smiling their bests at her.

“It’s so good to see you again.” Rachel began, grabbing her by the hands and leading her in. Max shut the door behind her.

“You said you had something for me?” The shy girl almost appeared a slight bit amused by this strange scenario.

“I have brought you a present that most don’t receive from me.” Rachel started in a dramatic voice, “I bestow upon you, a hug. One you deserve.”

Kate let out a small giggle, one of the tiniest smiles forming.

“I know why you messaged me and I do think we should talk to the cops.” Rachel murmured gently into her ear, burying her face in her shoulder afterward to share affection. “We’ll get that Nathan locked behind bars together. One punch for harassment, one punch for abuse.”

“Y-You really think so?” Her voice came out more surprised than hurt, which was a nice change from the last chance she had with her.

“I know so. We’ll show him. Right Max?” She stood up away from her, ending the hug slowly but surely.

“Right. We’ll show him what for.” She made punching motions in the air.

Kate chuckled, sitting down on the edge of Max’s couch. “Thanks guys. I don’t know what I would’ve done without this.”

After this short moment of peace and happiness, Kate and Rachel walked off together to class, the Queen B appearing behind them just as before.

“Well, if it isn’t the hoes of Blackwell.” She sneered, putting as much hate into her words as humanly possible. When in reality that hate was just pain and suffering of her own.

_Shit, not again._

“Hi Victoria, it’s nice to see you too.” Rachel said in the happiest of tones, turning around to face her immediately this time. “How are you? We haven’t talked in forever. I missed you.”

“You what?” She was obviously taken aback, a look of defeat smearing itself into her perfect smirk.

“Missed you. You know that thing that friends do when they don’t see someone for a while? Yeah.” She shrugged.

Kate looked up at Rachel with both fear and awe in her eyes. How had she just countered that so quickly?

“You’re lying again, Amber. Isn’t that like… your thing? Acting, lying and pretending to like people? You’re just a stuck-up bitch and everyone knows it.” Victoria sputtered out, putting her hands at her sides in an offended manner.

“Thank you, Thank you.” She bowed, smiling as if she had won the lottery. “Throw money, not roses.” She turned around, nudging Kate in the side and then walking out into the morning with her.

“How did you do that?” She asked quietly as they left to go towards class.

“Years of acting and dealing with fake friends. Don’t do it. It’s not worth it.” Hearing herself say it out loud stung her.

Classes passed slowly again, she wished she hadn’t had to experience it twice. When Photography class came again, and she made eye contact with Max? Her head felt as though a brick had been thrown atop it. She felt sick, a bit out of it, woozy even.

It was as if the two of them were magnets, but a force between them was keeping them from being near one another.

Her ears rung, she put her face into her arms hoping that if she did so she wouldn’t hear the guy come into the room and tell them someone was on the roof waiting to jump.

“Guys! There’s someone on the roof of the girl’s dorm. She looks like she’s going to jump!” Someone yelled into the classroom.

She got up, her world growing hazy as she did so. Reverse time? Could she do that? She put up her hand again like before, this time everything became disjointed. Was she tripping on something? Was she high? She focused as hard as she could, and a little bit at a time the world wound backwards.

The dude from earlier walked backwards through the door, Victoria sat down on the desk again, Max smiled at her again and then suddenly she was back.

She got up and without even a reason she ran towards the dorms. She was too stuck on saving Kate to even question what had just happened.

“Ms. Amber where are you headed?” Came the voice of Mark Jefferson following her from down the hall. She didn’t stop. No. Not the time.

She heard the guy from behind her yelling into the classroom that someone was on the roof of the dorms. Rachel pushed through students flooding out towards the area, she ran into the courtyard, not even bothering to look up, she ran up the stairs, into the dorms and then up the fire escape inside. The world was dizzying, she felt blood drip down from her nose and to the top of her lip.

“Kate… Kate please.” She huffed out, feeling herself start to get out of it. Maybe this was how all first-time-time-travelers felt.

“R-Rachel?” The girl standing on the roof facing the sky turned towards her, shaking like a leaf.

“Please don’t…” She stayed where she was, knowing that going any closer would prompt her to go over the edge. “Please don’t go. We need you here.” She started, feeling herself about to fall over. She started regaining strength, her words growing in volume, “We need you here and we love you. Those people down there? Who hurt you? Who wronged you? Deserve to be put to justice and you? Kate Marsh? Need to show them that you’re better than them because you are.”

“That’s not true!” She stepped back, getting ever closer to the lip.

“So many people love you Kate. A lot of people are just confused right now.” She felt a stab hit her heart as she remembered Chloe, David and Joyce. Her brain then settled on her mother and all of the hope she had had. “Sometimes we say things we don’t mean. Sometimes we hurt too and forget that what we’re telling others isn’t right.”

“I can’t…. I can’t believe that.” She threatened to go.

“Kate Marsh, if I hadn’t met you yesterday I wouldn’t have seen the truth. I wouldn’t have concreted that Nathan was the one behind all of this shit.” She let out the truth, her heart and body burning from it. It hurt to let things out this way, especially on a rooftop in the rain.

Kate looked at her in awe, the same from earlier, her body tensing, fear taking her knees.

Rachel walked forward slowly, stopping when she showed signs of faltering again.

“Kate come here, let’s make things right.” She felt tears going down her face now, real tears. She sniffed, putting her arms out for her.

“We can’t make things right…we we… can’t…” She cried out, threatening to go again.

“We can and we will. _Please Kate_.” Rachel collapsed as Kate fell into her arms, she held her tightly to her chest, patting her backside gently. The door behind them opened, David Madsen stood behind them.

“Rachel?” His voice was surprised, he tilted his head to the side. “I thought so.”

A principals meeting, a quiet goodbye to Kate as she was taken by someone to the hospital, a few quiet thank you’s and nods as she walked by. She was exhausted and let life slip by her head and her ears as if she stood in the middle of a highway. Traffic surged on both sides of her as she stood in the emptying halls of Blackwell.

She walked towards the exit, going off towards her usual spot for a quick smoke before driving back up to her home. She stood next to her car, leaning up against the door. She quickly lit up a cigarette, her hands shaking as she puffed her troubles into the air.

“Rachel.” A familiar voice came from close-by.

“Hm?” She asked, looking to her right at the taller blue-haired pirate girl.

“Are you okay?” Chloe leaned up next to her, setting a hand to her shoulder.

“As okay as anyone would be talking someone off a roof.” She smiled, laughing hastily, feeling her soul die as she did so.

“Do you want a ride home? I think step-douche would say you weren’t fit to drive or some shit.” She smirked, moving her hand away.

“Can I stay at your place, Price?” She asked quietly, feeling bad for even asking.

“Sure, Amber. Sure.” She nudged her in the side. “Shall we get into my chariot and ride into the sunset?”

“I wouldn’t mind that.” She perked up, walking with her to her beat up but highly characteristic truck.

Chloe opened the door for her, she got in and watched as Chloe boarded her “chariot.” They pulled out of Blackwell and the feeling that followed was freeing. She felt alive and that was just… so beautiful.


	6. Good Night

Rachel cuddled up close to Chloe before they went to sleep. She put her head nearest to her chest, the two clutching one another tightly.

_A wave crashed against the shore, a crack of thunder, the wail of high winds._

Rachel jolted awake. She stood at the foot of the bed she had laid on the night before. The clock read 7 AM.

She noticed someone, Chloe, sitting alone on the bed sobbing into her hands.

“Chloe?” Rachel whispered, walking towards her.

“Rachel?” Chloe looked up, her eyes burned red, tears flowing freely.

“What’s the matter?” Her voice was gentle, subtle, meshing into the silence around them.

“A nightmare.” She murmured, rubbing her eyes. “But you’re here now so that’s what makes me happy.” She was paler than usual as if it was more than a nightmare, but Rachel forbid herself from questioning her.

The smell of early morning breakfast entered her nose, a smile appearing gradually. She carefully walked over to her. Chloe got up from her bed with a strange look on her face. Almost as if she didn’t believe what was going on, or that she was higher than high itself.

Rachel backed away, raising a brow in question as she opened her mouth to speak, “Chloe, should we go down?”

“Sure, Rach.” She mumbled, gazing down at her feet and then back at her.

Within a few moments they had entered the hall before the dining room. A shorter brown-haired female stood in the kitchen talking to Joyce with the upmost enthusiasm. Rachel smiled at the fact the trio was together again but under better circumstances, however she was still confused when the woman in the kitchen dropped everything she was doing.

“R-Rachel?” Joyce’s voice hit the linoleum like a stone.

“Are you okay?” Rachel stood back, watching as Max and Chloe both returned confused expressions. “What’s the matter, guys?”

Chloe blinked a few times and then whispered, “You can see her too?”

Max nodded absently, unblinking, looking at her up and down as if this was impossible.

“You two, tell me what’s going on, _now_.” Her voice was to the point, painfully confused and a bit on edge.

“I don’t know how to put this lightly.” Max’s voice was small, subdued, almost amounting to nothing.

“You’re hella dead, Rach.” Chloe interjected, throwing herself in front of the metaphorical truck.

“Mhm, and Mr. Jefferson is a gnome from outer space.” Rachel squint, folding her arms close to herself in disbelief.

“She’s what?” Joyce asked with a rather fearful voice, looking as if she’d faint. “No, sweetheart, she’s obviously right here. Alive.”

“Mom, we have a lot to tell you but now’s not the time.” Chloe looked over at her mother with that sort of ‘Oh shit it’s a ghost’ look.

“When _is_ the time, Chloe? Shouldn’t we be alerting the authorities? She’s been missing for several months already.” She glared in that loving stern mother way, setting her spatula down next to the hot pan.

“Not now, duh.” She sassed back, smirking wildly. “C’mon you two clowns, let’s go sort this out elsewhere.”

“Oh no, no you don’t.” Came the voice of David from behind them as he entered through the other door from the garage. “Ms. Amber, what are you doing in my house?”

“Sorry Mr. Madsen, I forgot?” She thought up her answer on the fly, wondering what on Earth was going on.

“You forgot what? Have you been hiding here this entire time? All of these months? Lurking?” He shook his head, glaring at her in a way that would place anyone into a hole.

“David.” Chloe hissed, “She’s been missing for six months, let her chill.”

David sighed, creasing his brow with his fingers. He looked to Joyce for answers, feeling a vein in his head pulsate. David would always get angry for his own good. Sometimes thoughts would come and go and sometimes they’d stick to his arteries like a bad heart attack waiting to happen. He put his face into a hand, massaging his forehead. “Right.”

Joyce took her pan off the stove and walked to the phone, her face full of worry. “I’m contacting the police, Chloe. It’s the right thing to do. Rachel’s parents must have been missing her.”

“Missing?” Rachel chimed in, raising a brow. Her facial features deflating.

“She’s gone and lost her memory.” Joyce sighed, looking to her with an overwhelming blanket of concern. “Honey, where were you this whole time?”

“I’ve already told the police everything.” Rachel bit at her lip, brain spinning into millions of different spaces and times. Her temples ached at this point, feeling as though she was being torn through reality forcibly. “It’s all taken care of.”

She made eye contact with Max, millions of timelines surging through her eyes and guilt on her lips as if she had committed millions of atrocities all in five minutes.

Ringing dominated her ears as she felt herself collapse to the ground. Chloe’s confused voice entered the space as she heard sadness and sorrow, her name being shouted into the air as if she was lost.

Rachel forced herself up, head spinning, nose bleeding, body aching. She looked around her surroundings she was standing in the middle of American Rust.

“Oh, Rachel, no, no! Please, not her!”

She wobbled forward into a car, catching herself with her left hand. Once the world came back into focus she realized that Chloe and Max stood over a body. Her stomach churned until she felt her stomach try to give way.

“ _What the fuck_ …” She whispered, walking forward more so, forcing herself towards them. Her stomach couldn’t handle this thought, she felt it give way once again.

“I loved her so much. How can she be dead? What kind of world does this?” Chloe stammered out, curled over in a heap with Max at her back.

Rachel stumbled behind them. Her head was killing her and the smell of death disoriented her. She didn’t know if coming into this moment was the best idea. She tripped over a scrap of metal onto her knees next to the pair. Chloe stumbled backwards from her almost immediately and Max shuffled backward.

“Is this some kind of sick joke?” The blue haired punk’s voice came out in a contorted manner, her throat not letting her speak as powerfully as she had wished.

“D-Did I fuck up?” Max hissed out loud, putting her hand to her forehead. She put up her hand. The brown-haired hero was going to reverse time.

The world churned around Rachel and Max, neither of them going back into position as if they both warped it together by merely existing.

Max stopped, the timeline screaming back towards the both of them. Blood came from their noses, pain obvious across their faces. Chloe stood in the middle of them just about ready to start digging down again.

“Don’t.” Rachel growled out in a fashion akin to a lion. “Don’t you even go down there.”

The brunette glanced up at Rachel blankly, confused over this paradox. “How did you?”

Chloe stood up, stumbling backwards. Rachel caught her by the arm, barely hoisting her up. Chloe regained stance, meeting her hand upon Rachel’s.

“But you’re…” The blue haired woman uttered in a heart crushing fashion. Tears poured down her cheeks and onto her front.

“I’m alive.” She shifted her grip, placing Chloe’s hand upon her chest. “Just not in this world, apparently.”

“What do you mean? What does she mean?” Chloe felt the thumping of her heart against her hand as she looked to Max and then back at Rachel.

“I don’t even know what I mean.” She laughed out, feeling her chest start to tighten in panic.

“You… You didn’t shift backwards in time when I…” The every-day-hero walked forward towards her.

Rachel shook her head, feeling the world starting to crumble around her. “I don’t want this. I want to wake up now…”

The girl with the dragon tattoo wanted to leave this nightmare that she hadn’t signed up for. She put out her hand in a similar fashion to Max, focusing on the timeline and world she remembered. Her head spun faster until she felt like she was overcome by whiplash.

“I don’t want this.” She called out into the swirling world, her brain exploding from pain.

Silence filled the madness, the world turning black. She gasped as if coming out of water. Her body lay in the darkroom, Nathan stood over her with a needle in his grasp.

“Apply the dose.” A firm voice came from behind him.

Nathan visibly shook, his hand becoming equivalent to a jelly fish.

“Apply. The. Dose.” The man walked forward into the light, his face obvious to her now.

_Mark Jefferson._

She tore her hand free from the duct tape, moving it forward. “NO!”

Nathan, Jefferson, the needle and the room all fell out from under her as she went spiraling into a blinding abyss of pure light. Rachel Amber floated within the grasp of no gravity, no sound and no sense of direction. She couldn’t have even been sure what time it was, where she was and what she could do to stop this. Her eyes fell heavy in her struggle. She knew if she slept the world would cease to exist and she would be sleeping forever.

In death, Rachel Amber wasn’t missed as if her parents didn’t even accept the possibility that she was gone. They went on with their lives, almost preparing for her return, so that they could normalize her and free her from whatever hell she had been going through in these six months. Be it a hell of no jobs on the streets of California or the hell of being kidnapped. James Amber would grow to the age of fifty-three, alone in his home, finally realizing that his daughter was dead. Rose Amber would be with another man in a home of her own choosing, not once thinking back to Rachel as if she had vanished off the face of the Earth without a singular trace, no questions asked. Sera Gearhardt would die alone in an apartment of a drug overdose, never getting to meet her daughter again. Her face ingrained in her last moments of breath.

Her spirit was as restless as the fire that burned out of control in the hills above Arcadia Bay. Her mind was a screaming ball of pain and fury and acting like she was okay. Her body was as gentle as a doe. Her love was as poignant as anything, carrying a burden far greater than anyone had ever imagined.

The remains of Rachel Amber were taken by the Earth and spread among the soils until there was nothing remaining but a faint memory in the undergrowth.

In the long echoing halls of Blackwell Academy lay carvings in desks, lockers and in bathrooms, documenting her existence briefly as just another student. Just another name. Just another girl with a dream that was stuck within the confines of this hell.

Her name was only a whisper, dying out like a wick drowning itself in wax.

Rachel opened her eyes. She was immediately greeted with the ceiling of Chloe’s ramshackle bedroom. She felt arms around her, the girl she loved holding onto her in a death grip.

Quickly, she looked around the room in panic. She put her hand up to her face, feeling the cold radiating off of it. Liquid came from her nose again, more blood, her head starting to hurt again. The underside of her fingernails smelled like petrichor. She shuddered, realizing that her travels had been real.

She had died, come back to life and lived the life of another her in another long-forgotten world. Her body began to shake, the blue haired punk stirring. Sunlight drifted through the American flag hanging over her window, dust was apparent in the air and a quiet rustle of a breeze followed by ocean waves crashing against the beach came into focus.

Rachel hadn’t ever felt so real before, not in a long while.

“H-H-What?” Chloe stuttered as she forced herself awake. “What’s wrong, Rach?”

Rachel was thrown from her trance. “Nothing. Nothing’s wrong Chloe.” She smiled in her direction.

“Rachel your nose is bleeding.” Her voice hushed itself in fear.

“I know.” Rachel laughed, smiling a few times harder. She felt the fear fade into happiness and a sense of relief.

Only moments ago, she had clung to many lives at once and many different places at that. She was afraid to ever raise her hand again. She was even afraid to see Max Caulfield, fearing that looking in her eyes would throw her into another world.

The smell of stale coffee and sausages filled her nose as she glanced over at the clock. It was barely even 7:21 AM.

Rachel didn’t want to move for fear of being lost again.

After a few hours they were thrown from their moment of peace.

Rachel’s phone buzzed, rang, and then buzzed again. Both a phone call and a text simultaneously. She was sure popular again.

She sleepily grabbed it and put it to her ear. “Hello?”

“Rachel! _Took your damn time_. Have you seen Caulfield? She didn’t come back to the dorms last night.”  A female’s voice was on the other end of the line. Victoria. “She left to visit Kate at the hospital but never came back. Her dorm is completely empty. It’s kinda weird.”

“Max is didn’t come back?” Rachel sat up quickly, turning away from Chloe.

“This isn’t like her, Rachel.” Her voice grew incredibly quiet, almost sad. Oddly enough Victoria hadn’t ever expressed any good emotions that she knew of towards anyone unless it was the fake ones thrown at her friends in good natured sweet nothings. Why did she care about Max suddenly? “Get down here as soon as you can. We need to find her. I’m worried.”

“Why are you worried?” She questioned, growing skeptical at this request.

“I-I… I called Kate. She told me Max never showed up at her room. I know she’s not one to do that.” She admitted, her voice softening even more so.

“I’m on my way.” Rachel abruptly hung up the call.

_“Chloe, Max is missing.”_

An expression of hopelessness and anger overcame the blue haired punk’s face. A wave of torment formed throughout her beautiful hues. Disbelief rattled her breaths. She wondered if this was how she looked when she had gone missing. Rachel swallowed a ball of fear, shaking her head at her. She wanted to tell her everything she had experienced last night but not was not the time. She clinched her fist, angry at herself for hiding another secret.

When the two arrived at Blackwell, all seemed too quiet, too well. Rachel raced to the dorms to meet Victoria, Chloe in tow.

“Oh, you brought _her_?” Victoria scoffed as they were forcibly directed into the secrecy of her room. “Fine, fine, fine.”

The blonde closed the door, grabbing out her phone. “Kate and I both attempted to text her, but she didn’t respond back. We attempted other platforms and even calling her but they all rang for ages and went to voice mail.”

“We need to put up missing posters.” Chloe whispered, looking to her feet. “And go looking because this isn’t okay. Why would Nathan Prescott kidnap Max?”

“Why Nathan?” Victoria asked, quirking a genuinely curious brow.

“Nathan and- “She paused, looking down at her feet as well, feeling insane even mentioning it. “I’m convinced Nathan kidnapped me.”

“Did you even see him doing it?” The tall blonde’s voice grew harsh in defense.

“Yes, I _know_ I saw him.” Rachel’s voice became firm.

Victoria sighed, shaking her head, looking around her room in an overwhelmed fashion. “We’ll go to his room and prove that he has nothing to do with this, won’t we?”

“If that creep has the capability of drugging me after selling a bad cut to me? Then I think he can kidnap a person.” Chloe growled, her arm being grabbed by Rachel.

“We’ll go down there and see if he’s there, then.” Rachel became the voice of reason, taking Chloe by the arm out of Victoria’s dorm and into the hall.

The trio briskly walked towards the male side of the dorms, entering the gloomy building silently. They rushed towards the end of the hall and to the left and then to Nathan’s room.

Victoria almost knocked on the door when Rachel stopped her. “What?”

“We’re gonna pick the lock.” Rachel grabbed a bobby pin out from behind her ear, a piece of her hair coming with it. It dangled off until she slid it away.

Carefully she wedged the pin into the lock and began to work her magic.

“I learned this from her.” Chloe bragged, smirking.

“Good for you, _heathen_.” Victoria retorted.

_Snap, snap, snap_ _…_ **Click.**

“Shit I almost broke it.” Rachel hissed, nudging the pin out of the door and into her hand. She turned the knob slowly, looking into his room. His bed was unmade as if he had either left in a hurry or someone had made him leave in a hurry.

The stale scent of cologne hung in the air mixed with that of rain and pine needles. The carpet in the entry of his room was laden with mud and water droplets.

Victoria was taken aback by this scene. “I’ve been in here before but I never expected it to look like _this_.”

Pictures of helpless women lined his walls nearest to his window that was covered in newspapers and curtains. Rachel’s missing poster was crumpled up and re-flattened out and hung on the wall too. Rachel walked forward, looking down at her feet as she moved in.

“Be quick he could be back at any minute.” Victoria hissed, feeling off about being in someone else’s room without permission.

“When did you start being so anxious, Icky-Vicky?” Chloe questioned, raising a brow.

“None of your business, _Cleo_.” The blonde threw at the bluenette with force.

“Chloe.” The pirate queen returned, smirking.

“Whatever.” Victoria’s face grew disgusted as she found something on the ground.

“Stop fighting, you dweebs. I’ve found something.” Rachel grabbed a key from his desk, on a piece of masking tape was written ‘barn.’

“Rachel, Clara, I’ve found…” Victoria threw in, grimacing as she was corrected.

“Chloe!” Chloe threw up her hands. “It’s _not_ that hard to remember.”

Rachel growled at them, shaking her head. “Work. Ladies. _Work_.”

Victoria sighed holding up a piece of crumpled paper she had found on the floor with crossed out names. The first name was Rachel’s, then Chloe, and then Max, under that was the beginnings of a few more names. Victoria, Kate and then Dana, the rest were scribbled out in black and the first names were crossed out in red.

“What the fuck?” Chloe grabbed the piece of paper from her hands, glaring at it.

“Okay now I’m seriously creeped out.” Victoria walked out of the room and into the hall, clinging onto herself.

Rachel left the room with her and then Chloe followed, shutting the door with a bandana in her pocket.

“Is this some kind of hitlist?” Rachel asked, shuffling close to Chloe.

“I don’t think we should wait around and find out.” Chloe looked over at Victoria who was now staring off into space with the worst look in her eyes.

They walked towards the parking lot, stuffing themselves into the cabin of Chloe’s truck. Victoria sat in the middle, Rachel and Chloe sat on the sides.

“I need to say something before we go.” Rachel said as soon as Chloe put the keys into the ignition.

“What? Can’t it wait?” The punk’s glare caught her off guard.

“ _No,_ this is important.” She swallowed hard, looking down at the welcome mat floor. “Remember how I woke up with that bloody nose?”

Chloe nodded, Victoria looked skeptical.

“Well I had a nightmare. I was thrust through multiple situations… I. I died in my dream, Chloe. But before I did—I saw something I wish I hadn’t missed before.” She bit her lip, focusing her eyes on Chloe finally, the confidence she once tried to hold melting away. “You know how dreams have a knack for bringing back suppressed memories whether we know it or not? Well… Mark Jefferson… he was barking orders at Nathan to dose me.”

“Mark?” Victoria’s voice heightened in curiosity. “No that can’t be right, He’s not like that.”

_“There’s two sides to every coin Victoria.”_ Rachel’s voice turned grave, a twisted darkness of fear haunting her green hues. Vulnerability leeched out of her body and into the world around them. She shed the second skin, then the third and fourth, bringing herself into the light of the day.

Victoria’s facial expression noticeably shifted. A sense of belief overcame her stiff physique. Her shoulders drooped down, her lips quivered into a frown and the delivery of her next words were that of pure confusion, “Rachel?”


	7. Headlights

The road was a twisting turning nightmare. It was as if the road had collided with the waves far below.

  
"I don't...  _understand_ ". Victoria's voice was more subdued than normal, holding no air of power or might.

Rachel glanced over into her direction from the window, rain beginning to pelt it in various ways. "What?" She shifted in her seat arching her back into it and then forward again in hopes of popping it free of the weight it held. 

"Who are you?" The short-haired blonde murmured putting her face into her hands. "One moment you're sparkling Rachel Amber and the next you look like you've dug someone's grave."

"I'm ...  _me_." Her voice was firm and daunting, her hues rock solid and her lips a sedentary line. Rachel's brain was focused on a few things, and a few things only. Max, Jefferson and the fact she could jump through dimensions. It wasn't exactly normal.

As they went through the rain torn back roads, they stopped at a dirt drive that had been reduced to mud. A sick feeling stuck to her stomach when she remembered being tossed in a ditch, left to die. For a moment she was transported to that point in time, feeling Nathan's ragged breaths on her ear as he stumbled out of the car to throw her into the culvert. 

" _Hurry up, we don't have all day._ " A voice from the past echoed into her eardrums, consuming her until Chloe stopped her truck in front of a plain looking barn. Reality hit back, her cheek hitting the window. 

"Is this it?" Chloe's voice brought her back down to Earth, "I expected it to be a bit more you know... creepy."

"At least we know it's real. Maybe we can get the police to search it for us... because you know... we don't want a chance at getting kidnapped too?" Victoria piped up, staying firmly planted in her seat.

"Actually Victoria... that isn't a half bad idea. Who knew you had it in you!" Chloe jokingly punched Victoria in the shoulder, looking behind her in the rear view mirror. "Oh shit..."  
  
A black car, identical to Jefferson's car began to pull up the drive, mud slewing behind it like ink. 

"Chloe... get us the hell out of here." Rachel's voice grew anxious, paranoia eating at her stomach.

Chloe ripped around in what felt like a blink of an eye, the black car stopping half-way down the drive. The windows were so dark it was hard to tell who was coming in. She peeled by the black car, unable to catch the driver's face due to the blur of the moment. Once they came to the end of the drive, Chloe took a pause. This pause was long enough for the trio to hear the roar of an engine behind them. 

"Chloe!" Victoria's voice became shrill as she saw the black car that had been facing the opposite direction racing towards them.   
  
The bluenette stomped her foot onto the gas pedal, nearly killing the truck's engine. They lurched forward towards the gully, she forced her wheel to the right, the end of her truck fish-tailing off of the edge and then back onto the semi-paved road. The black car followed in tow, coming so close to the truck that someone could reach out and touch the hood ornament. 

The world around them blasted past the windows and doors, colors mixing together into unrecognizable pallets and textures. It was just them and the black car on a long open country road driving faster than the truck could handle. It was lucky that the truck could even run this fast.

"We were so... so stupid for coming out there." Victoria's voice caught at the back of her throat, her body visibly still. "What the hell were we thinking?"  
  
"Shut up!" Chloe growled, trying to concentrate.   
  
A corner came up, three reflectors mounted on a fence signaled a sharp turn. At the other end of the chain length fence was a ridiculous drop off into a section of old growth fir trees. Chloe threw the wheel to the right, the black car changed trajectory, skillfully spinning into the back of the truck.  
  
"Fuck!" Chloe shouted, the truck being thrown like a child's toy off of the ravine and down towards the river. "FUCK!"   
  
Rachel felt her life flash before her eyes, unable to look behind her at the black car that sat mere inches from the edge of the gully. She could feel the pain already of her legs being shot up into her body and then the dark embrace of death. She didn't want to wake up in some random afterlife knowing that Max died alone, without having a real chance at life. Sickness devoured her stomach as she heard the shrill screams of the other passengers and driver. The love of her life and a classmate, all about to die in an "accidental" wreck off the side of the old highway. The radio that had barely been working or on during that entire ride had suddenly become the most noticeable thing to her.  _Burning the Midnight Oil again, sitting out here listening to the wind, I just called to tell you that I miss you my old friend, burning the midnight oil again._ _  
  
_ Darkness took her just as they were about to make impact. She gasped, opening her eyes. She sat in the back of a car going down the road at a reasonable pace. The time of day had shifted, the lighting was orange reflecting that of a sunset or rise. A man she didn't really recognize sat in the front driver seat.   
  
"Hiya Kiddo." His voice was eerily familiar to something she had heard once before. "I didn't expect you to be in my car this soon." He laughed, looking back at her through the mirror. "Things are probably really confusing for you, huh? They confused Chloe too."  
  
"W-Who are.." Rachel felt her voice catch.  
  
"It's not important." He smiled softly, stopping shortly before a two-way crossing with a one-way stop. A truck burst through the stop sign, but this time instead of hitting the car it kept going until it hit the mountain side. "What's important is that you're here now, sweetheart."  
  
Rachel gawked at the truck that had just crashed, her body shaking as she remembered what she had just about went through. A wash of realization hit her.  _This was Chloe's father._ She remembered the pictures and the cassette tape recording. The very recording that Chloe had to leave the room and house for her to listen to.   
  
"You're going through a rough time, and when you wake up from this little dream which won't be for a long while, you'll understand the extent of what happened." He began driving again, driving straight through the truck as if it wasn't there. "Life is like this road. Expectantly bumpy, sometimes cars tailgate you..." The black car from earlier followed his car closely and then vanished into smoke, "...Sometimes trucks hit you and take you off of the road screaming towards a new place.. and other times you find yourself stopped on the shoulder, waiting for a ride." Chloe's truck sat on the side of the road, both Chloe and Victoria sat in it. They passed it and then passed it again, the second time Chloe and Victoria were bloodied and battered. "When you wake up, you need to realize that you can't control this road, but you can control your wheels, and your brakes... and the gas within the tank."   
  
The female felt cold begin to nip at her arms, the sound of a heart monitor beeping into life.   
  
"It'll be okay. . . " His voice slowly began to fade into a cone until it was getting more and more distant, "Take control of your car." The orange light faded into white unnatural light, she gasped for air, jerking upwards. She wobbled back down, feeling off-balance.   
  
A nurse who had almost walked by her room jumped into action once she saw her awake. The door was forced open as she clambered in. "Ms. Amber? Ms. Amber! Oh, my goodness we never thought you'd... I told them you would... but they..."   
  
Rachel looked at herself, jerking backward as she realized her right leg wasn't there anymore. Hyperventilation took over.  
  
The nurse put her hand behind her back, bringing her to sit up. She began to throw pillows behind her. "That's it..."  
  
Rachel's breaths slowed down at small increments, her entire being shaking. "Wh..where.."  
  
"You're at OHSU." The nurse stood back, writing vitals onto a piece of paper. "You're okay."   
  
"What... what day is it? How long.. how.." She looked around for any indication of a date, not seeing one.  
  
"A few days, sweetheart." The lie came from the nurse too quickly, hatred sizzled in her stomach. "Your family was worried."   
  
"Did they... the others make it?" Rachel felt pain well up in her chest.  
  
"Ah the two others present in the accident?" She asked, flipping through her charts. "They made it out better than you, Miss. It was honestly miraculous. They found you clutching your friends, shielding them from something. You took the brunt of their fall."   
  
"How long have I been out?" She asked again, firmly, the loopiness kicking her in the head finally after the adrenaline wore off.  
  
The nurse sighed bitterly, bringing her head down. "Six months."   
  
"Six.. Six months?" She repeated, the nurse nodding.  
  
"Your friends were discharged about two months ago. Neither of them lost limbs or had any life-threatening injuries other than a few broken ribs and limbs." She put her chart on the wall. "You were put into a forced coma so we could work on you in surgery. However, your body went into natural comatose state after the surgery and we weren't sure when or if you'd wake up." She hefted a sigh out. "Please tell me when to stop so I don't overwhelm you."  
  
"Please tell me what exactly is wrong with my body." Rachel's words were slightly slurred but still coherent. It felt like she had been hit by a truck.  _Haha a truck._  
  
"You broke several ribs, fractured your jaw, broke your arm and I'm sorry to say you lost your right leg to the fall. There wasn't anything we could do. However, in preparation your father purchased a prosthetic limb." She hit a button on the wall. "We'll get Dr. Michaels in here to access your vitals. I'm glad you bounced back, I was rooting for you." The nurse awkwardly stood off to the corner.   
  
After what felt like forever, a man in a white lab coat emerged into the room carrying his own clipboard. "Ms. Amber, you're awake!" He sounded extremely excited, which made her wary because she didn't know if it was real or fake or.. both. "Oh good, you're back. You probably don't remember me, but I'm Dr. Michaels. My team has been monitoring you since the beginning. I'm going to give you a few tests and hopefully you'll come back improving. We'll continue to monitor you after these test results come back and that'll determine how long your stay will be in recovery."   
  
Poking, prodding, reading, cat scans... the whole nine yards in under five hours. She was so tired but her body refused to let her rest. Usually the results would return to her and her family within the next few days, but they had rushed them purposefully for their research on her strange recovery patterns.   
  
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. The clock on the wall annoyed her so much, it reminded her of the rain drops that had hit the window in the truck. She was afraid to come into contact with Chloe, Victoria.. or even try to talk to Max. She was afraid that she'd be met with radio static from all of them. She sat up in her bed, looking out the large window that peered down into the city of Portland. She hadn't been here in a long while. Rachel grabbed the plastic container of water off of her bedside table, taking in some liquid and then setting it back down. It didn't do well on her dry throat.  _It burned._ She weakly lay back down.   
  
Life fell into a pattern shortly after her first few days awake.  First it was the letter from her father telling her he'd be up in Portland in the coming days, then it was the prosthetic leg fitting, and finally, by day three, a semi-longer almost entirely brown haired Chloe Price walked into her room with a bouquet of roses. She looked worn out and tired, her eyes housing millions of dark areas and bags. However her face was brighter than the sun, her lips in a smile that could resurrect a dead flower.   
  
"Hi Rachel... it's good to see you finally decided to re-join the land of the living." She sat the flowers down on her bedside table.   
  
The blonde finished up her food, pushing the swinging table away from her to give her arm room. "I'm glad you're okay..." She coughed, covering her mouth.  
  
"As okay as I'll ever be." Something haunted her, something dark.  
  
"What happened while I was away?" She asked, feeling her heart tense up.  
  
"You didn't miss much. Arcadia Bay is the same as always." Chloe's voice lingered on the city's name for a while.   
  
"Is that all?" Rachel cocked her head to the side.  She knew it wasn't all and she hated to pry information from her love. "What about Jefferson and Nathan?"   
  
"Nathan was arrested... but.. for drugs... and Jefferson?" She paused, biting her lip. "Went missing in the dead of night before his house got raided by police."   
  
"What about ... the bunker?" Rachel's voice began to pale very slowly, afraid of the worst.   
  
"It was there. All of it." Anger dawned in her eyes. "The police searched everywhere, and I mean...  _everywhere._ The entire damn town. We weren't even allowed in our own houses until it wasn't deemed a crime scene. David almost lost it sleeping on the floor in the Blackhell Gymnasium."   
  
"What about Max?" The thought of the entire town being cornered off like that was bizarre at best.   
  
"After they questioned us to death, they found a trail leading to Jefferson's computer. They suspect he's fled with her out of state. Nathan's douchebag of a father fled too. The police don't know where any of them are right now." The punk's voice grew harsher. " _She better be alive_."   
  
"She is alive. I know it." She clinched her fist, knowing that she had to heal for this reason now.   
  
The conversation burned into her mind. Chloe stayed with her as she began to bring herself back up to full strength. Days turned into weeks, her father finally showed up, things started making less sense. When time finally crawled back to a normal slow, she was sitting in her Doctor's personal office, hearing him discuss her discharge plans. She'd have to come back for physical therapy every week for five months or more until she was able to walk normally again. Chloe held her hand, squeezing it every time Rachel tensed at the thought of this long road of recovery.  
  
When they were finished she was successfully discharged. It felt good to wear normal clothing again and not borrowed hospital wears. Walking with her new prosthetic gave her a minor limp, but she was thankful she could even walk again. When they walked out the front doors of the hospital, fresh air entered her lungs. It made the hospital air pale in comparison. The tall trees that surrounded the hospital were like old friends and harsh nightmares. James walked the girls over to his car, letting them in.   
  
"Are you ready for the long drive back home? I know we'll have to continue to make the trek up here but remember what the doctor said. You'll have to go back eventually. It might help you feel better." He looked behind his seat at them, smiling subtly.  
  
His words faded away as she melted into Chloe's shoulder. She closed her eyes, wishing the entire accident hadn't happened, wishing that everything that had led up to it hadn't gone so wrong.   
  
She fell asleep, leaving the world of the living once again to face dream land.  
  
\- - -   
  
Jefferson stood in a house, smiling at a female sitting in a chair. "Good afternoon, my dearest. Are you ready for another photo session?" A river off of a ravine was at the back of him through the windows, sunlight filtered in. The female who sat in the chair got up willingly, nodding at him excitedly.   
  
"I'm always ready for more photo sessions." She followed him through a door and down some stairs.  
  
Without turning around he laughed, "Good Max.  _You're my favorite model_. Make me proud."

 


	8. Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> forewarning: the next chapter will be longer, just you wait.

Rachel stirred when they abruptly stopped on highway 26. Traffic was jammed. Chloe looked at the blonde with hopeful eyes.

“Hey Rach.” Chloe spoke idly, smiling elegantly.

“Hi beautiful.” The blonde fluttered her lashes, sitting up from the punk’s shoulder.

James changed through a few channels on the radio, almost settling on a talk show until that became annoying. Then he changed to another station which was going hella haywire.

James tried to change it, static bursting through the speakers. He slammed the button to turn it off, looking into his rearview mirror with an awkward smile on his face.

“Sorry for the scare, girls.” He carefully inched forward, the cars in front moving at a snail’s pace. He was tense but not because of the radio. The traffic had gotten on his nerves long ago.

The two in back shrugged but were visibly shaken.

“Chloe, I’ve been meaning to ask… how’s Victoria?” She looked out the right window with a frozen expression on her face.

“She’s okay, I guess.” Chloe paused, looking down at her hands that bore scars. “She’s been… really quiet lately.”

“Victoria… quiet?” Rachel cocked her head to the side, feeling an ill ache taking over her stomach. “That’s…”

“Weird, I know.” Chloe finished, looking up at the dark grey upholstery over their heads. “But what’s even weirder is the shit surrounding you.”

Rachel tensed, she had almost forgot seeing as she had been distracted from all her therapy. Things had felt normal up until this moment. Max was gone, she had powers of some sort and she felt empty.

“Oh.” Chloe looked down at her feet once she noticed her change. “Sorry.”

“No, no, I just…” She swallowed, hard, feeling the ache deepen. “I wonder if I can train whatever this is. Maybe it’d help us find Max.”

“That’s not a bad plan.” Chloe was getting restless in this completely still vehicle. “Can you try to do it in here?”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Rachel bowed her head.

“Woah, Rach…” Chloe’s look of confusion was overpowering. “I know we all got into some horrible accident, but, I’ve never heard you sound like this before.”

Rachel sighed, looking away from her in minor annoyance. She didn’t want to talk about whatever it was she could do or even try it again. It had landed her in the hospital with a limb missing and her friends lives in danger.

The rest of the car ride home was quiet if anything. James attempted to tell jokes to fill the silence, Chloe rolled her eyes louder than his jokes and Rachel, well, Rachel was contemplating everything. Nothing wanted to let go in her mindscape, she felt disgusted with her own thoughts.

Arcadia Bay rolled into view as they finally found their way around the long bend. The sky was spotless, the stars shining high above and the small amount of light pollution only blocking them the tiniest bit. Things didn’t seem off but they did seem the slightest bit different.

They pulled up to Rachel’s house, the warm light coming from within was less than welcoming. Panic gripped her chest.

When the car fully stopped, Chloe got out first, making her away around the car to open Rachel’s door. With care and ease she opened the door, ushering her out dramatically.

“Mi’lady.” Her beanie nearly flopped from her head onto the pavement.

“Dork.” Rachel slipped out from her seat, putting her dominant leg out first and then her other. She stood, hugging Chloe immediately.

“Well hello there.” She kissed Rachel’s head, then let her free.

“You two are just too cute.” James’ voice burst in between them, waving his keys. “You coming in?”

Chloe shut the car door, nodding idly as they made their way to the front door.

Walking wasn’t so difficult once she got the rhythm, although her balance sucked at the worst times. She felt herself fall to the side, catching herself on Chloe who had been there just in time.

“ _My hero_.” Rachel dramatically gasped, leaning into her with partial weight. She needed to depend on her new leg just as she did her other. Overcomplicating it was her worst fault.

Once they were in, it was apparent something was going on within the Amber household. Rose stood behind the countertop in the kitchen cleaning a glass with anger in her eyes. Another woman sat in the front room with her face forward and her hand occupied with a glass of something warm.

_Who was that?_

The person sitting turned her head towards them, smiling brilliantly at Rachel and Chloe, however the smile dimmed a bit when she noticed James.

“Ah Rachel.” The woman gathered her hair, flopping it over her ear and then her shoulder. She wore a single raven feather earring, her extremely similar hazel eyes sparkling in the light. “I was unfortunately just about to take off, but it was very good seeing you again.” She sat the mug on a coaster and stood, grabbing her rain coat and walking out the door behind James, making sure to bump him on the way out. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“I’m sure you are, _Ms. Gearhardt_.” He grumbled, smiling through the obvious irritation.

“Gearhardt?” Rachel said aloud, looking up at James and then towards Rose. “Gearhardt?!”

“She’s related to _you know who_.” Rose said in a cryptic manner, widening her eyes at James.

“My mom, got it. I’m not a five-year-old, guys.” Rachel sighed, smirking for a moment as she looked over to Chloe who had a knowing look across her face.

“Rach.” She began, nudging her gently. “L E T S G O T O Y O U R R O O M. Y E S?” She spelled out obnoxiously.

“Before you go…” James paused, looking to his feet then back up to them. “I greatly advise against the two of you finding _this_ Gearhardt.” He narrowed his eyes, frowning. “And this isn’t an open invitation to disobey my advising. You won’t be in trouble with me, but with her? Who knows what antics she’ll pull.”

“Then why did _you_ even let her in the house?” Rachel looked up at Rose, frowning.

“We needed to make nice.” The brunette answered sharply, setting the glass she was overly drying down onto the counter with a loud clang. Silverware jumped up from the counter top surrounding the glass making an even louder noise to go with the previous one. “We are…” She sighed, shaking her head. “ _Family_ , after all.”

Rachel shrugged, walking over to the stairs. “Alright, we’ll steer clear of the mystery woman.”

“I don’t want to lose you a _third_ time, _Rachel Dawn Amber_.” Her father murmured in a sullen voice, fear and sadness lingering in his eyes.

“Oof, he used your full name. _He’s serious_.” Chloe whispered as she tried her best to calm the tense room.

Each stair up was precarious at best but still doable. By the time they made it to her room Chloe launched herself in. Rachel followed behind sluggishly, closing the door behind her.

“So, what now? Unicorns? Flying penguins? Warren with a girlfriend?” Chloe asked while throwing herself into her girlfriend’s bed.

Rachel attempted not to laugh at the last one, but failed horribly. “Warren with a girlfriend would be the literal end of the world.” The blonde rubbed at her wrist, thoughts racing through her mind.

“A Gearhardt, a car crash, _Jeffershit_ —” Chloe was stopped by Rachel.

“Jeffershit? _Nice.”_ Rachel sat next to her on the bed, laying back.

“Max gone missing and these power thingies. It’s like we’re in an anime. Maybe you teleported us all into an anime on accident. When do I get the cool powers? Will my hair randomly get bigger every time I power up? Will there be ninjas and pirates? Maybe demons.” She lay back beside her. “Maybe we should try your power thing out. It might be able to help us find Max.”

“I just don’t know what it can do. And I know it saved us before, but I don’t know how. It’s sporadic at best.” She paled, remembering the time she experienced death and then woke back up. “I’m… Chloe I’m… _fucking scared_ of it.”

Chloe grabbed her hand tightly, squeezing it. “I’ve got your back, Rach. Let’s try.”

“I don’t even know if I can control where it takes me.” She bit at her lip, feeling a stabbing sense of oddness build up again just as it had time and time again.

“Let’s go.” Chloe firmed up her grasp, hoping desperately that somehow, she’d end up with her wherever Rachel landed.

Rachel sat up, Chloe joined her, the two held one another’s hands tightly not a single gap between them. She shut her eyes, putting up her hand. “ _For Max.”_

“For Max.” Chloe whispered in a minorly wary voice, closing her own eyes.

An extremely high pressure overtook the usually calm and quiet bedroom, the sound of whistling ripped into the air. Thrashing. Silence.

Rachel opened her eyes, she stood inside of a dimly lit space, the sound of a gunshot echoing through the room. A man in a white shirt fell to the ground. She shivered over the familiarity of the space, remembering it from her nightmares.

“Holy shit.” Chloe hissed, still holding Rachel’s hand.

Rachel shook, looking at Chloe in pure disbelief. Max sat in a chair, bound to it, David was taking her free of it. For a long moment Rachel suspected she was merely observing but that was until the two in the room took notice of them standing out of place in the corner of the bunker.

“Chloe?” David’s voice was full of emotional struggle as if he had just lost her.

“Rachel?” Max chimed in mere moments after him, her face full of confusion.

Fiery pain spun around her skull as she pulled them somewhere else. She felt the very fabric of each space screaming out in equal pain, her power unstitching and re-stitching the cosmos. They were dragged into a new space, their own, sitting back in the bedroom as if they had never left in the first place.

Chloe’s eyes were wide open, her jaw dropped. “What the fuck was that?”

“Right?” Rachel said in a shaky voice, laughing it off in nervousness.

“That was the bunker. That was the motherfucking bunker.” Chloe’s voice turned to anger quickly.

“And that was Jefferson on the floor, wasn’t it?” She felt her voice catch in her throat. “Holy shit, David shot Jefferson.”

“Good riddance.” Chloe flipped off the imaginary Jefferson on the floor.

“But that wasn’t our Jefferson.” A puzzled look overtook her face.

“Woah what, oh right yeah, universe stuff.” The punk shook her head. “Damn does that ringing stop after a while?”

“Yeah, it just takes a few minutes.” She felt blood drip down her face and onto her pants, she fell forward, clutching her head. “Dammit.”

“Rach.” Chloe scoot closer, putting an arm around her to get her closer.

“I’ll be okay, they usually stop immediately after starting. I think I have to get used to this until we can save Max.” She shook, her nose burning.

“You’re so charming.” The other mused, smirking in a dorky manner. “Willing to sacrifice your life for someone you hardly know. Ugh I fucking love you.”

“Love you too.” She winked, kissing her cheek.

Rachel felt electricity in the air, something was off. The calm night turned to storm as soon as she realized this imbalance. Rain pelted the ceiling and thunder burst high above.

“I wonder if your powers trigger the weather too. Huh.” Chloe stood up, wandering over to her mirror. “You got some blood on me, rude.”

Rachel followed, leaning to the side to look at her cheek. A chill rain down her spine. “ _That’s not blood.”_


	9. Hook of Maui

 

“Chloe your face, you...” She murmured as the red mark on the other’s cheek snaked around until solidifying into a maroon marking.

 

“It looks just like your makeup from that night...” She ran her finger across it.

 

“What the hell?” She felt stinging on her own cheek but nothing was appearing, at least not yet.

 

“This is just... weird.” Chloe felt a chill go down her spine. “My girlfriend has super powers and now this marking.”

 

“And now I suddenly have an aunt who came from out of town and my dad told me to not go near her.” She felt nauseous.

 

“Would your aunt— her hey wait where are you going?” Chloe called after her in a quiet manner, most of the house had tucked into bed for the night.

 

Rain drops thrummed against the dirty downstairs windows as Rachel took quick steps down the stairs. The cacophony outside was nothing compared to the fire burning deep inside of her chest.

 

She was fearful and upset with herself for dragging anybody into her fantastically awful disposition. Especially Chloe Price. Yet again she was grabbing the punk tree into a wild adventure.

 

Chloe came down after her in a slower manner, confused as to what was going on. A flash of lightning illuminated her face, revealing the red mark had turned to a stormy blue.

 

“No fucking way...” Chloe said in quiet disbelief as she grabbed Rachel’s cheek. “You’re ... uh... face?”

 

“What?” Rachel grabbed her phone from her pocket and caught a glimpse at herself.

 

Her right cheek had what looked to be a mark in the shape of her makeup from the Tempest.

 

“Prospera, returns?” Chloe questioned in an almost mocking manner.

 

“Shit.” Rachel quietly hissed to herself, running her finger along the curving line. “Looks like we’re both playing the lead role tonight.”

 

She grabbed her rain jacket off of a chair, putting it on quickly.

 

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Chloe asked with a half-hearted smirk.

 

“We’re going to see this... aunt.”

 

—-

 

There was only one motel in the sleepy town of Arcadia Bay. The others were off down the highway or nowhere to be found.

 

This one was the most sleazy and obsolete place to stay on the entire coast line. One man would always stand at the counter as if eternally indebted to the building. The only time that Chloe or Rachel had seen him move was the day that the coast had had record snowfall and he had been shoveling the drive.

 

When they had entered the office of the manager at the 24 hour motel, his first response was to laugh.

 

“You kiddos look like wet rats!” He pointed at them and continued laughing until it devolved into coughs. “Phew...”

 

“We’re looking for our aunt, she’s visiting and forgot to tell us her room.” Chloe said, ignoring his comment about rats, but wanting to sass him.

 

Rachel blinked in the direction of Chloe, proud of her for starting the story for them.

 

“What’s her name, sweetheart?” He attempted in a charming manner, only coming off more creepy. He hadn’t seemed to have noticed their markings.

 

“Gearhardt?” Rachel said in a cringy manner, wishing she had known her first name.

 

“Hmmm, funny—“ He was cut off by the voice of a woman behind them.

 

“Oh! Hi girls, you showed up right on time.” She held her suitcases. “I had to swing by the market before I checked in.”

 

Rachel turned around and smiled believably. She walked up to her and grabbed a suitcase. “I’ll help you get your stuff up to your room.”

 

Chloe gawked at Rachel and realized that she had been doing better with her new leg already. Man she was fast.

 

“I’ll uh, help too!” Chloe walked up quickly and grabbed a plastic bagfrom her.

 

“Thanks a bunch.” She said as she walked up to the counter. “I reserved a room just this morning.”

 

“I’m suspecting you’re Ms. Gearhardt?” He asked, looking through his old school book log.

 

“Yes, that’s correct. Andrea Gearhardt.” She pointed to herself on the page.

 

“Ah yes, well you already gave me your credentials over the phone so let’s see here...” He turned around and grabbed a key with an eye closed. Precision.

“Here’s your room key. If you need anything contact me or Martha.”

 

Andrea nodded curtly and took the key from him. She then proceeded out the door, the two following behind.

 

They took a jaunt over to Room 7 and the moment the door shut and they were inside, the entire vibe had changed.

 

Rachel looked around the one bed ‘estate’ and then at the woman she now knew by Andrea.

 

“I was wondering when you’d visit. It seems you’ve found it.” Andrea said casually as she placed the shopping bags on the bed.

 

“Found the motel? Yeah only one in—“ Chloe started, being cut off by a laugh.

 

“Not the motel you silly girl.” She stopped what she was doing and sat on the edge of the bed. “The mark.”

 

“She sees them! The old dude must be going senile.” Chloe threw her hands up.

 

“He’s blind to them. Simple as that.” Andrea commented while she ushered for them to grab a chair.

 

Rachel obliged, grabbing one of the two wooden chairs from the table near the door. Chloe joined her shortly after.

 

“Blind?” Rachel asked and narrowed her eyes.

 

“Well, not literally. It’s, well, uh, hard to explain. I’m surprised your father let you come out here without a fight.” She shifted her weight from side to side. “He was evil towards Sera and GREAT to me. He couldn’t even make eye contact without some sad little comment...”

 

“Mom?” Rachel’s facial features twisted into anger. “So you’re her sister after all.”

 

“Estranged sister.” She corrected, putting a finger up. “It’s because I picked up a skill she wanted to turn away from.”

 

“Like what? Knitting? Underwater basket weaving?” Chloe scoffed.

 

Rachel was as confused as ever. Things had gone from 0 to 100 in almost no time. She attempted to soak everything in but it was hard to gather it all into her brain’s collection bucket.

 

“I’m guessing you haven’t been told. Why am I not surprised? Your father likes to keep everything a secret to protect you.” She paused, putting hair behind her ear. “The Gearhardt family has been known to carry a burden. One that makes life a lot harder to live.”

 

Rachel thought back to her alcoholism and drug addictions. Her face paled. She felt Chloe take her hand.

 

“Some families have historical figures that haunt them, some are full of committed individuals, and others? Like ours, are very spiritual. Not in the religion sense, but in a way that I don’t think you’ll believe. Your grandmother would always tell me stories of her mother. The deaths, the haunting, the unexplainable... am I losing you yet?”

 

Chloe shrugged, not saying a word due to the fact she had just been thrown into another dimension and back again. Why bother?

 

“Good.” Andrea pointed at them. “Your markings aren’t the first of their kind. To you they look like something you are familiar with. To me they’re reminiscent to the drawings I once saw and to any normal onlooker without a past like ours, the markings are nonexistent. They tie you to a long history of unexplainable events and odd happenings. Each member of the Gearhardt family tends to have a knack for witchcraft. Your mother was a a charmer but blamed it on other things. Your grandmother saw it and turned away from it in fear, your great grandmother only used it when the moment was right. She rose a storm so large she nearly took out the entirety of Vanport in anger and in call to change.”

 

Rachel tilted her head to the side. “A storm?” She remembered the storm she had seen coming towards Arcadia, her body tensed.

 

“Most Gearhardts have visions at best.” She moved her hair away from the right side of her face, revealing a tattoo on her neck that resembled a raven taking a snake. “But it seems you’ve shared your ability with someone dear to you.”

 

“How did I do that?” Rachel asked in a quiet voice and almost ducked away from the conversation.

 

Chloe stared at the raven on Andrea’s neck and remembered the raven that had followed her throughout her first moment with Rachel.

 

“It’s hard to tell. These things are unpredictable. I’ve been going around Oregon in attempts to figure out why we even have these abilities.” She moved her hair back, noticing Chloe’s interest in the raven. “You, I haven’t caught your name, I’m sorry for being so rude.”

 

“It’s uh... fine.” She slumped down, smiling in an uncomfortable way. “Chloe, my name’s uh Chloe.”

 

“Nice to meet you, Chloe. Are you two...?” She piqued a brow.

 

Rachel nodded, “The best of gal pals.”

 

“Right.” Andrea shook her head. “Gal pals.”

 

“So, I’m like... a witch?” Rachel questioned, her voice shaking. “Did I curse Chloe?”

 

“Yes and no? Not exactly. When two gal pals like one another enough, they can momentarily share insight of their powers. However, I’ve never seen a transferrable mark before.”

Andrea opened her suitcase and grabbed out a necklace.

 

“I thought you said it was unpredictable?” Rachel questioned, rubbing a thumb over Chloe’s hand.

 

“It’s so hard to explain. Especially when no one avidly asks me these questions.” She held the necklace out to Rachel. “This necklace represents safe travels as well as a wealth of many other things. Your great grandmother was gifted it from an old friend of her’s.” She handed over the hooked shaped necklace. “It’s carved after the hook of Maui.”

 

Rachel grabbed it, staring down at it with a blank look. “So you know I’m in danger?”

 

“Your leg was taken from you somehow. I don’t think it was an accident.” Her entire aura changed. Sadness took over the small room.

 

“Our friend was taken from us too.” Chloe stepped back into the conversation. “By the same guy who tried to kill us. We’re gonna need all the blessings we can get.”

 

Andrea nodded, closing up her suitcase. “Just don’t let your father know what you’re planning. Heading into the lion’s den could lead to death.”

 

“How’d you know we were going to find them?” Rachel questioned.

 

“A little birdie told me.” She smiled at someone who wasn’t there in the room with them.

 

Maybe Andrea had been a bit tipped or maybe the truth was just too hard to swallow. Rachel gripped the hook in her hand tightly but cared for it enough that it wouldn’t snap under her grasp.

 

—

 

Blackwell Academy - 10:00 PM

 

Kate sat in her dorm alone, it was her first time back into the rhythm in what felt like forever. She scanned a reading assignment on her desk with heavy eyes. A small knock interrupted her from her studies. She stood up, walked to the door and opened it up a sliver.

 

A depressed Victoria stood on the opposite side of the doorway. Her eyes had become concave and dark, her clothing had become unmanaged, and her hair was unkempt. It was the first time Kate had both seen her like this and seen her back at Blackwell.

 

“Kate, can I... come in?” Her voice was rough as if she had just finished crying.

 

Kate nodded, opening the door more. It had been past curfew and she was curious as to why Victoria was here so late. She closed behind them once Victoria had stepped foot into the room.

 

“What’s up?” Kate asked in a flat voice.

 

“I wanted to see you first before I went to my dorm... I wanted to apologize to you. Personally.” Victoria’s gaze shifted to her feet.

 

“Oh?” Kate noticed her begin to shake. “You’re apologizing again? I forgave you months ago, Victoria.”

 

“I know ... I just... after the accident I sat on it a lot and just... I can’t shake this feeling. It’s eating away at me.” She coughed, sniffling a bit.

 

“It’s okay, Victoria. I know you were hurting and we all say and do stupid stuff when we’re not feeling our best. It’s going to be alright. C’mon, sit down.” Kate dragged over a chair. “You want some tea?”

 

“That’d be really nice, thank you.” Victoria attempted a soft smile.

 

—

 

Being scared, good vibes and bad vibes. All things that were seemingly out of control for all those involved. An unrecognizable Maxine Caulfield was stuck in hell with a man bent on taking her soul with his lens.

 

Each click would chip away the very fabric of Max’s being. Both metaphorically and emotionally.

 

Innocence, he called it. The thing he wanted to capture with his lens and become famous from.

 

Mark Jefferson would get what he wanted until justice knocked on his door.

 

And justice, couldn’t come soon enough.


End file.
